Heaven or Hell
by NewmanYHC
Summary: Clary was having the time of her life, living it up with her friends at the college of her dreams. But what happens when a certain transfer student decides to make his way into her life? Art, class, and uncertainty collides with confident, arrogant, and drop-dead gorgeous in a explosion that could form a relationship from either Heaven or Hell.
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**Copyright belongs to Cassandra Clare, only Cassandra Clare, and thank God for Cassandra Clare and her brilliant mind.**

**Now, this story is another one of those that popped into my head and I have no idea where it's actually going to go. Sooo, with that said, don't try to figure out what to expect because I don't even know what's going to happen at this point.**

* * *

"I don't know what's hotter. Isabelle's feistiness when she got that yellow card or the fact that Maia just jumped three feet in the air in the sexiest dive I've ever seen in my life. Talk about an amazing save. It was hot."

Clary rolled her eyes at Simon as he went on and on about the current soccer game. This is how it always was, and she'd begun to accept that by her second year in college. When she first met him she wasn't sure how to handle it, but now it was just amusing to watch his nerdy-self act all high and mighty and then break down when the two girls actually talked to him. He'd try so hard, have it going for a few minutes, and then lose his cool. It was amusing to watch.

This by far had been the best start to the year though. As a nineteen year old sophomore at Idris College, things had been going nothing but great. Isabelle, her roommate, was the captain of the soccer team at the school. Maia, her suitemate, was also on the team and as chill and relaxed as Clary could ask for. She didn't ask many questions and normally just went with the flow, which worked well when you had someone like Isabelle living in the same quarters. And Clary's other suitemate, Aline, was… well, that's a different story.

It was a beautiful late summer day in the mountains of North Georgia and a perfect day for soccer. Even though Clary wasn't all that athletic, she found a strange joy in watching people actually play.

That had to be her artistic side, her fingers itched to the athletes in their zone as they played. Their reactions, their movements, their attitudes, it was different on the field than in normal aspects of their lives. She wished she really understood, but despite the fact that Clary didn't get it, she was still intrigued.

"GOAL! NUMBER 18! ISABELLE LIGHTWOOD!"

The crowd erupted in a loud cheer as Clary's eyes drifted back down the field. The team was surrounding Isabelle in hugs and cheers as they smiled and ran back to their side. That was the moment that Clary wanted to capture. She didn't care if it was a drawing, a painting, a camera picture. Just the way Isabelle lit up, the way she jumped and smiled needed to be captured and remembered forever.

"Damn," Simon whistled as the crowd settled back into their seats. He leaned back on his hands in the grass. They were loners, as always, down by the corner flag. "She's so… just… it's like… you know?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "Yes, Simon, because that was so descriptive and all."

"Shut up."

"Maybe if you could form a coherent thought, I wouldn't be so keen on ragging on your obsession with her."

"It's not an obsession," he said defensively. "It's… a strong interest."

She might have believed him if she was completely oblivious, but she knew better than that. If anything, Simon was completely and totally head over heels for Clary's roommate, while he had a strong interest in Maia. That's how that worked, whether Simon wanted to admit it or not.

The game passed like it always did, Idris College winning 2-0 with Isabelle scoring both goals. The first game and first win of the season, and there were sure to be celebrations that Saturday night!

Clary and Simon waited by the fence behind the northern goal like they always did. It was a tradition starting last year. Well, more of a habit than a tradition.

"Congrats on the win, girls," Clary smiled when Isabelle and Maia walked over.

"Thanks," the girls exclaimed happily, laughing and bumping each other with their hips in a sign of victory.

Simon leaned on the fence casually, and Clary had to hide her smile with more effort than normal. He really did try so hard. "Well done, ladies. I have to say you both looked amazing out there."

"Hey! Izzy!"

Their group turned back towards the field where the voice came from. Jordan, the goalkeeper for the boy's team, was jogging over casually. He was massive, that's for sure. His body was tanned, strong, his dark hair falling into his eyes while a goofy smile was plastered to his face.

"Great game," he exclaimed when he immediately reached Izzy and wrapped her in a bear hug. Her body lifted off the floor as he twirled her, making her laugh and giggle. "You played awesome, but what else is new?"

Clary was faintly aware of the clenching of Simon's fists and the annoyed sound coming from Maia's direction. They all might have been good friends, but jealously was still there. No way in hell was Clary going to ask them about it either. Not today.

Plus, her mind was elsewhere at the moment. She wasn't focused on the hormonal teens next to her. No, her gaze was directed towards the field, towards the boy's team, towards him.

Sebastian seemed to notice her stare as they were warming up and looked in her direction mid-run. He smiled and winked at her, causing her to blush and butterflies to erupt in her stomach. She smiled back at him before he got yelled at by his coach for paying more attention to the female population than the warm-up.

"So," Isabelle announced as Jordan took off back towards the field. "Are we going to stay for the boy's game or go eat and get ready for tonight?"

Clary checked her watch. "How much time do you need to get ready Iz? That's the question."

Izzy thought for a moment, nodding her head. "Good point, four hours is pushing it."

Maia groaned. "I wanted to stay though." Her eyes drifted towards the field, and Clary couldn't help but agree with her. She wanted to stay too.

"You can stay with Clary," Isabelle announced. She hopped the fence separating the four teenagers and grabbed Simon's hand. "We'll go get some dinner for you guys and meet you back in the dorm after the game."

None of them, Simon in particular, was about to protest that plan, so Clary let Maia lead her back to the sidelines. They found refuge at the top of the bleachers for the best view, maneuvering their way through the hundred plus students that made it out for the boy's game. This was always one of the most popular events at the college. This and basketball. Their college was too small for a football team, but being a D2 school, they still played pretty high level Universities, and it was more than entertaining.

"I saw that earlier by the way," Maia said after a few minutes of silence between the two.

Clary gave her friend a look. "What are you talking about?"

"You and Verlac," she pointed out. "I noticed that little blush and smile. I'm not stupid." Maia was obviously playing with her by the smirk on her face, and Clary felt the blush coming all over again.

But two could play at that game.

Clary shrugged casually like it didn't bother her. "This coming from the girl that looked ready to kill when Jordan hugged Izzy first, and only by the way. You looked like a wolf ready to pounce."

Maia opened her mouth to retort, but Clary smiled in victory when the girl came up with nothing but a "Touché" remark.

They kept up simple conversation as the teams warmed up. The girls talked about school, their majors, who the new hotties on the team were, new freshmen, new teachers, the usual. It wasn't anything different or unique, that is until the starting lineups were announced.

The eleven boys that lined the middle of the field for Idris College wasn't what Clary was expecting. Obviously, Jordan was in goal. Sebastian was still a starting center forward. There were a couple other guys too, Meliorn, Raphael, the typical players from last year. They all dressed in the signature white jersey that was their home jersey. Nothing was out of place with them, but there was one person that really caught Clary's attention.

She didn't really mean to focus on him, but she couldn't really help it. He was shockingly perfect, even from the distance. Number 7. Tall. Blonde. Gorgeous. Built. Attractive.

"And Captain, Number 7, a junior transfer from California, Jace Wayland!"

The blonde, Jace, stepped out of the line with a smile on his face, waving towards the crowd as every girl in the stands started screaming. His smile grew and grew as he scanned the crowd. He even winked at a few of the basketball cheerleaders, who then swooned and squealed even louder.

"Ugh, I hate those guys," Maia mumbled.

"Why?" Clary asked.

"He's the hot guy that knows it and is a dick to every girl because of it. Trust me, he's trouble. I don't like him."

Clary looked at Maia momentarily before glancing back to Jace. She studied him with a closer look now, and he did have those cocky features about him. The way he stood showed he was proud, probably arrogant, and more than like an asshole. A hot asshole, but an asshole nonetheless.

"He's already on my nerves, and I haven't even met him yet," Maia complained some more.

Clary just nodded as they all stood for the national anthem. Even though she'd never admit it, her eyes weren't on who she thought they would be the whole game. Instead of following tall, dark, and handsome, she followed blonde, arrogant, and gorgeous.

That was a problem.

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**What do you think? I'm not sure about it yet, and I'm not even all the confident in it honestly. I haven't decided to actually continue with my other story, Expelled, or to focus on two at one time. Review and tell me what you think, because I really need the help!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Knockout

Jace stepped out of the shower, shaking his hair out with a towel wrapped around his waist. The steam filled the small shower space, but it didn't stop him from seeing the reflection in the mirror. It was a sight that all women, and some men, enjoyed as Jace stared at himself in the mirror. All smiles, smirks, a glint in his eye. And it was all because of today, that feeling that he got after his first game.

The feeling he loved more than anything was the crowd calling his name. He smiled to himself in the mirror as the memory flooded back. When he scored, he was pretty sure every girl in the stands was screaming, yelling, chanting, clapping, and it was all for him. They all blushed when he'd look at them. He pointed to some blonde haired girl when he scored, blowing her a kiss and he swore she fainted. It was awesome, and no matter how many times it's happened to him, he'd never get used to it.

At first, he was worried about coming to some place like Idris College. The mountainous terrain and separated nature of the small town wasn't like Los Angeles, but with the amount of female attention he was bound to get, the place couldn't be that bad, could it?

No way. It was going to be awesome. Being away from his adopted father wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Especially with the season kicking off and the partying, Jace was getting ready for the time of his life.

"Yo! Wayland! You in here?"

"Bathroom," he answered and turned towards the door.

His roommate, Jordan, walked in with his phone in hand, staring down at it. "I just got a text from a friend. There's an off campus party tonight in celebration of the girl's and boy's wins this afternoon. Alcohol, girls, a fifteen bedroom cabin by the lake." He glanced up, a spark of excitement in his eyes. "You in?"

Jace smirked, knowing that a lot could happen at a party for him. That included girls, chicks, dames, and damsels in distress that would be calling his name. "Hell yeah. When is it?"

"Can you be ready in twenty minutes? I'm going to get some people and I'll be back."

Jace nodded and immediately got to work. It didn't take long for him to get ready considering he was already pretty gorgeous. He wasn't afraid to admit it. His blonde curls were something that girls loved for some reason, not that he was about to complain. Plus, living in California was more than helpful. His tan was practically permanent now. His facial features were sharp and strong, and he knew exactly what his little signature smirk did to women of all ages.

This was going to be interesting.

He didn't spend too much time on an outfit. Black pants and a black t-shirt was all it took for girls to fall all over him. With his boots tied and laced, he relaxed on his bed, waiting for Jordan to get back with the details.

What he wasn't prepared for was what followed Jordan in that room though.

See, Jace and Jordan shared a dorm room, just a single room with a single bathroom, and that was it. He wasn't expecting anyone to come back other than Jordan to get keys and head out. That wasn't what he got.

He brought back a chick already, and it wasn't even eleven o'clock.

The girl that walked in was talking up a storm with her hands, telling some story that Jace couldn't give two shits about. Her black hair fell down to her lower back in a straight line. It looked soft to touch. Her outfit wasn't as innocent as her hair though. All she wore was a pair of jean shorts that didn't leave much to imagination, a tub top under a leather jacket that she left open for the world to see, and black heels that gave her a few extra inches. She was already tall to begin with, and the heels only emphasized her fitness level and her height more. Plus, she was fit. Extremely fit.

"Isabelle," Jordan introduced as she stepped into the room. His voice cut her off mid-sentence. "This is my roommate for the semester, Jace."

He sat up as she entered, giving her a smile and a wink.

To his surprise, she didn't even react. Well, she did, but her reaction was a simple eye roll and a scoff. "Aren't you that guy that felt the need to hit on every girl possible today?"

He hid his feeling of looking taken aback. Not because it wasn't true, because it definitely was, but he was more shocked at her knowledge. He didn't remember seeing her there. "I have no shame in saying yes. And for the record, most of them were hitting on me too, not that I can blame them. I'm gorgeous. But you weren't there, so it makes me wonder how you know that?"

"I know everything," Isabelle smiled with a flick of her hair.

Jace glanced towards Jordan where the boy just shrugged and nodded. There was a warning in his eyes, telling Jace to be extremely careful around this Isabelle girl. She wasn't the type that was to be messed with, but Jace loved messing with those types. He'd admit that to anyone.

"And this," Jordan gestured towards the open door. "This is Clary. The feistiest little ball of–" He froze when she didn't step in the door. "Wait a minute. Clary?"

"What?" Her small voice sounded from some distant down the hall.

Jace smirked as Jordan stuck his head outside, looking to the right and to the left until his eyes apparently fell on his target. "Come here, shorty."

"She's good. Don't wait up for her. I'm taking her to the party, so we'll meet you guys there," a male voice assured. Jace knew that voice. Sebastian Verlac.

Jordan nodded and shut the door a little too quickly. Jace's eyebrow rose in question, but Jordan shook his head to ward it off. Obviously, he wasn't about to answer whatever question was stewing in Jace's head.

"I hate that guy," Isabelle grumbled and shivered. She plopped down next to Jace, much to his surprise. It wasn't like a move or anything, more like she was annoyed and just sat out of instinct. He found her presence to actually be intimidating though and slid a bit away from her. A first in his line of work.

"Why?" he asked.

"Jace, I know you're new to the team and all, but you'll figure out soon enough that Sebastian isn't exactly a good guy," Jordan pointed out. "He and Clary have been on and off since the spring semester, and he's the worst possible guy for her. It pisses us all off."

"Since when are any guys in college good? We all want the same thing." That earned him a punch in the arm from none other than Isabelle Lightwood. "OW!" She could pack a punch. He rubbed his throbbing shoulder, wondering how someone like her could have so much power. "Don't injury the goods, sweetheart. What was that even for?"

"For being a dick."

"Hey, Jordan was thinking it too," Jace said and looked to Jordan for confirmation. "He just wants to get in your pants. You know that as well as I do, and I'm pretty sure he knows it better than anyone."

Jordan's face was priceless. His jaw dropped instantly and his eyes widened. His cheeks flamed red with embarrassment but he also didn't have a single comeback.

"I'm not that type to just let the panties drop, Wayland," Isabelle pointed out. She stood and made her way over to Jordan, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door. "Jordan knows that as well, believe it or not. And if that's what you're looking for, good luck with herpes and any other STD's you'll catch."

Jace stood, stretched, and gave Isabelle a knowing look. "First of all, that's disgusting. Second, I know how to avoid such things. And third, I'm much too beautiful to damage, so now you know I would never risk such a thing. I'm smart enough to stay away from those disease infested animals."

"You two have barely known each other and you're already fighting." Jordan pointed out. He shook his head and walked into the bathroom, muttering something under his breath.

Isabelle casually looked Jace up and down, meeting his eyes. "I have a feeling that you might want to get used to that. Right Wayland?"

Jace crossed his arms over his chest. "Now, if I agree to that, then we wouldn't be fighting, so no."

She winked at him, not flirtatiously but more cocky and smart. "Well played. Now, is that animal Verlac gone yet?"

Jordan shrugged and pulled Isabelle towards the door when he stepped out of the bathroom. He stuck his head out after slowly opening it, scanned the hall and threw the door wide open. "All clear."

Isabelle stepped through the door and yanked Jordan out, turning around and smiling at Jace. "You coming, player-boy?"

He smiled, grabbed his keys and phone, and closed the door behind him. "Wouldn't miss it."

* * *

The party was loud. Blaring, crowded, smelled of alcohol and cigarette smoke, and everywhere you looked in the house, there were couples making out in any corner they could find.

Clary sighed, leaning against the kitchen counter. The cabin was getting more packed by the second, and she wasn't really an expert at dealing with these things, especially dealing with them alone. Sebastian was who knew where at this point. Isabelle disappeared hours ago. Jordan was probably with her doing God knows what, so Clary wasn't about to go looking for them. Maia and Simon were out by the lake last time Clary saw them, but she had gotten the text that they were leaving an hour ago. Neither really cared to watch their crushes be together. Not that Clary really blamed them.

So she was basically on her own with a screwdriver in her hand. She sipped it every once in a while the music blasted from speakers hanging in the connecting living room. She felt the urge to dance the more she drank, but she wasn't brave enough to do something like that. She wasn't that girl, no matter how bad she wanted to be.

Instead, she just looked down at her phone, secretly hoping Seb had texted her. Maybe he was looking for her? No messages. Of course he wasn't. Clary knew that they weren't exclusive or anything, but sometimes she wondered how he could want her so bad one moment and then ignore her another. Was it so hard to just focus on one person? He seemed to float back and forth between girls like it was his job.

And the worst part was she knew that. Her friends knew that. And yet, she still had these crazy feelings for him that she didn't understand.

Unconsciously, she took a huge swig of her drink. The alcohol burned a bit going down her throat, but it eased the sickening feeling in her stomach. She didn't want to sulk all night because Sebastian had other interests. She wanted to at least have fun. This was the first major party of the year, and she was just standing in the kitchen like a confused child.

"Where is he?" Someone asked/screamed over the music.

Clary looked to her right, finding Aline of all people. She was leaning against the counter in her skin tight dress auburn dress. It was so tight that it might as well have been painted on.

Sadly, Clary didn't really know. "He disappeared about an hour and a half ago."

"Why do you deal with him, Clary?" Aline asked, mimicking her friends position and leaning against the counter to look out over the living room.

If only she actually knew the answer to that question. There wasn't a real reason that she went along with Sebastian except for the fact that being alone sucked. Throughout high school, she wasn't exactly the most beautiful girl, so when Seb showed interest, she just took it. She wasn't sure how these things worked, and even though everyone told her it was a bad idea, she just went with it. Even Aline, his own cousin, said that he wasn't good for Clary, and yet she was still all about his tall, dark, and handsomeness.

Finally, Clary settled on a simple answer. "He's a good kisser."

Aline rolled her eyes. "He's going to hurt you. So why string yourself along?"

"Cause despite the inevitable end, I do actually like him, Aline. I know you think I'm an idiot and you insult me every second because of it, but I do like him. It's college. I'm allowed to have fun."

"Please tell me this is the alcohol talking," Aline said as she took another sip from her own red solo cup.

Clary glared at her.

"Well, then I have nothing else to say to you. I already told you that you're an idiot, but the rest is your choice."

With that said Aline left her there in the kitchen, surrounded by people but feeling totally alone.

Sometimes, no, all the time, Clary wished that she could just take her friend's advice and do it. Just tell Sebastian that she deserves better and leave him, but she can't technically leave him because they're not together, right? They're not exclusive. She kept repeating that over in her head so it wouldn't hurt as bad. She knew that he was probably with another girl, and it should hurt like crazy but it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Yes, it hurt, but it wasn't like her heart was breaking. It was just… there.

That was probably the problem. Neither of them was really in the relationship or the friendship. They were just kind of going with the flow, not really trying and not really caring. Actually, Clary probably cared more than Sebastian, but neither made a move to make it more than it is. Clary wanted to have fun, and Sebastian wanted to have fun. That's how it got started, and she kept telling herself to let her feelings out of it. They'd only make it complicated.

She looked down at her cup, thought that maybe it could help, and then started drinking. She tilted her head back, taking each gulp one after another. She was almost done in the matter of seconds when a hand suddenly came up and stopped her.

Her cup was wrenched from her hand, and when she blindly reached for it, a strong hand wrapped around her wrist. Electricity, or something like it, shot down her wrist and she jerked back at the unexpected sensation.

"You keep drinking like that, and you'll wake up in some loser's bed with no recollection of the activities you joined in on. Now is that what you want?"

She opened her eyes to find a pair of golden ones staring back at her. The alcohol hit her pretty hard finally, and it took a moment for her to focus on the figure in front of her.

His eyes looked like they were sparkling with the light in the room, and he looked her over once, making her body physically react. "Of course, if that's what you want, I know an empty room upstairs."

Clary shook her head, trying to clear the alcohol but only making the effect worse. She gripped the wall next to her, wishing she wouldn't have chugged that third drink. "You're that Jace kid, right?" she mumbled.

He smirked when she said her name and nodded his confirmation. Her eyes drifted down her cup on the counter. "Noooo." He slid himself between her cup on the counter and Clary herself. "I think you need a break for a bit, okay?"

"I don't need a break."

He nodded. "Yes you do. You're short, tiny, and you're tolerance is probably even smaller than you think. All girls think they can bite off more than they can chew."

Clary crossed her arms over her chest and staggered in the process. His arm shot out and caught her elbow to keep her steady. "I don't need your help," she growled as she once again yanked herself out of his grasp.

"I'm just trying to keep you from being stupid."

"Who are you? My father?"

"Well, you know my name so that's a stupid question." He leaned down slightly, his eyes searching hers. She found herself caught in his golden gaze and his cologne seemed to intoxicate her. "But sadly, I don't know yours. Care to share?"

"I do, actually."

She stormed past him, forgetting her alcohol and not even caring. Her small frame was able to maneuver through the crowd easily enough. Even with Isabelle's persistence to put her in heels, Clary didn't trip or fall and slid out the back door until she stepped on the wooden back porch.

The night air hit her quickly and she welcomed it with open arms. There was something about early mornings that Clary found amazing. It was the most beautiful time of the day when the full moon would be overhead the hour after midnight, illuminating the lake in colors and casting dangerous and creative shadows across the land.

A hand grabbed her ass suddenly, another snaking around her hip. She was yanked backwards against her will, yelping in the process until her back became flush against another body.

"Hello, beautiful," a raspy voice whispered in her ear. "What are you doing by yourself?"

She swallowed, hoping to Jesus this was a just a nightmare. She hoped this whole night was a nightmare because she was completely over it. Going back to campus was the only appealing thing right now, but no matter how much she closed her eyes and wished to wake up, the guy's hands stayed on her, tight and possessive.

She squirmed in his hold, looking around but knowing none of these people would help her. Everywhere she looked were couples in their own world, and the few groups that were out here were drunk out of their mind. Girls were stumbling and guys were stumbling right after them.

"Come on now, sweetheart," he whispered. His hand came up, tucking a stray red curl behind her ear. She whimpered. "Don't be scared, darling. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then let me go," she said in a soft, scared, quiet voice.

Clary was suddenly released. A flash of gold was in front of her, pulling her out of the man's grasp before Jace grabbed the guy's collar. She turned in time to see Jace lift the guy in the air, slamming him against the wall with a thud.

"She's with someone," Jace growled at the scared, dark haired drunk. "So back off before I beat your ass, got it?"

The guy nodded quickly, his hands coming up in surrender. "Yeah man, I was just looking for some fun, bro. Relax."

Jace dropped the guy's shirt, but kept one hand on his chest to keep him there. "You can have fun all you want, but make sure you pick a girl that wants the same fucking thing."

Clary didn't know what to say or do at that point, so she turned and made her way towards the back railing. It overlooked the dock, the lake, the forest opening to the water, and she leaned against it as the wind blew her hair back and forth. Her heart was still racing from what just happened when Jace came up next to her.

"You are with someone, right? You didn't come by yourself?"

Clary's heart had stopped racing with adrenaline and she took a deep breath to calm it completely. "I don't honestly know. It's complicated. We're not dating if that's what you're asking, but we might someday."

"That's a bit forward of you," he said with a smirk. "We only just met, love. I need more time."

"I wasn't talking about you, jackass."

Jace laughed and smiled. She was shocked to see how he looked at the ground when he did it, like he was shy but she knew he wasn't. It lit up his whole face though, making him seem brighter in the moonlight and she felt the urge to paint him. He was actually gorgeous, which is exactly why Maia told her to stay away.

Clary turned her gaze instantly, thinking back to what Maia had said. Jace seemed to notice her sudden change, tilting his head a bit and glancing back towards the house. "Well, are you going to be okay out here? I don't want to have to protect your ass if some other jerkoff should be doing it."

She jerked back by his choice of words, and suddenly an anger she hadn't felt in a while took over. "No one asked you to protect me. I don't need protection, so you can just go." She pointed towards the house. "Get."

Jace twisted to face her. His face wasn't angry, shocked, annoyed. It was just… a blank mask of no emotion. "You don't need protection, but you didn't look to comfortable or confident with that dick having his hands on you. And I'm not sorry to say you aren't capable of taking care of yourself either. It's the truth, and it's only been proven in the past five minutes. You're chugging alcohol you can't handle and guys are grabbing you like a piece of meat. Did you forget that already?"

Anger coursed through Clary, even though she knew he was right. She wasn't exactly handling the situation very well or very smart, but she didn't need this jackass to say it to her face. She knew it, just repressed it. She side stepped in order to slap him, but her stupid heels caught in between the hardboards. The combination of a broken heel and a drunken haze caused Clary to plummet to the floor.

Her body never made contact though. The strong arms that belonged to the same gorgeous, lean, smooth body wrapped around her waist, pulling her up until her back slammed to his front. His arms snaked around her in a warm embrace, holding her tighter even though she was as steady, yet unsteady as could be at the moment.

It was the same embrace that the other guy had tried, but this was different. Clary wasn't a fan of Jace, at least not his attitude, but she didn't try to pull away from him like the other guy. Maybe it was the alcohol that was kicking in overdrive, the time, or the fact that she was sick of being alone all night that made her sink into him, leaning her head back on his shoulder. His heat was pouring through his clothes and into hers, sinking into her skin and igniting it in a low burn. She shivered, but not from the cold. From the heat.

He chuckled behind her but didn't loosen his hold either. In fact, he tightened his own grip, and Clary willed him not to let go. His arms were wrapped around her stomach, his thumbs rubbing circles on her sides where her top had rose up along her hip. Her hands came up, covering his exposed arms and she touched his hands lightly. She wasn't really sure what she was doing, but she was doing it regardless.

"You might want to be more careful. I could get the wrong idea from a situation like this since your already talking to someone," Jace whispered. His voice was just by her ear, his breath brushing her hair across her face.

"I'm blaming the alcohol," she said in a confident voice. Surprisingly, her inner feelings didn't get portrayed like she thought they would.

"That hurts my ego." He nuzzled his nose in the crook between her neck and her bare shoulder. His lips lightly brushed over her skin, and she cursed her body's reaction when she shivered at the feeling. She practically felt him smile into her skin. "But you're body's reaction makes me feel a bit better if I'm being honest."

She suppressed the shiver this time, but she closed her eyes at the sensation. "Don't be so conceded."

He chuckled, tightening his hold on her. "Why not? You practically faked your fall so I would catch you."

She rolled her eyes. "It's the shoes."

"You sure do like to blame anything but yourself."

"It's true. Heels and I don't get along."

"You don't like heels?" he asked.

She shook her head, finding it harder and harder to find the words to speak. "I'm flats kind of girl."

"Well, the heels aren't disappointing anyone. Neither are the clothes. You're ass looks amazing." He placed a light kiss at her shoulder. Goosebumps erupted across her skin even though she tried her best to stop them. "Believe me."

"Clary?"  
She glanced up, trying her best to escape the haze of Jace's embrace, to see Sebastian standing there in the doorway she recently walked through.

"Seb!" she exclaimed, more out of surprise than excitement, and she stepped – more like jumped – out of Jace's hold. He dropped his arms, and Clary stepped a good three feet from him to make the distance noticeable. Well, she stumbled away. "I couldn't find you earlier."

"Uh huh," Sebastian mumbled. His eyes weren't on her though. They were on Jace with an angry fire that she'd seen plenty of times. "And Jace just decided he could step in?"

"So, you're the Clary that I've heard about from Isabelle?" Jace asked. He seemed calm considering he was getting the death stare from a pretty massive man. Jace's eyes were just on Clary with no concern, a smirk plastered to his face. "Her description didn't disappoint, although she failed to mention your personality in the car earlier. That needed a warning."

"Wha – what?" she stuttered.

Jace's smirk only grew. "I was curious about you in the car because I heard you and this jackass," he regarded Sebastian with a head nod, "were some kind of unofficial item. Honestly," he looked Sebastian up and down, "you can do better, Clary. Much better."

That was all it took for Sebastian to lunge at Jace full force. Their bodies collided but surprisingly, Jace wasn't even fazed. Clary watched in a haze as Jace was able to twist just as Sebastian grabbed him, gripped Sebastian behind his back, and threw him to the ground with little to no effort.

"I'd stay down there if I were you," Jace sneered.

"The hell with that!" Sebastian all but screamed as he kicked out with one leg, trying to catch him off guard.

Jace wasn't effected in the least. Sebastian's kick was caught in Jace's hands just before the foot connected with his stomach. He just held Sebastian with a smirk on his face. "Good try, but no."

This time, Sebastian's other kick actually landed somewhere, right into Jace's mid-section. He stumbled backwards as he released the darker boy. Sebastian was able to get to his unsteady feet before Jace could retaliate. His anger was heightened and Clary cowered back against the railing, hoping to Jesus this didn't turn out to be some kind of testosterone warfare with her in the middle.

Jace rubbed his midsection slowly. "That was rude, Verlac."

"Fuck you, Wayland! Stay the hell away from Clary, got it?"

Jace looked at her, and a heat flooded over her with the intensity of his gaze. "I don't know. She's pretty damn hot." Was that a compliment or a jab at Sebastian? Her mouth opened slightly but nothing came out because of her genuine confusion. Of course, he also ruined it with his mouth to. "The sad thing is she's probably not the type to put out, so I couldn't really be interested. But, then again, I like a challenge, so maybe I will. What is your drunk ass going to do about it?"

There was a growl coming from Seb's throat, and before Clary could comprehend what just happened, Seb lunged for Jace, the anger emitting off of him in waves.

Third time was definitely the charm. Jace reared his hand back and in one quick, swift movement, his hit Sebastian right in the face. Clary wasn't sure of the details, but she – along with thirty other people who had gathered around – watched in awe as Sebastian hit the floor with a thud and stayed there. He didn't moan, groan, or even show any signs of pain other than the blood from his nose. He just lied there on his back with his eyes closed.

Jace smiled, naturally, and rubbed his left hand softly. He stepped up to Sebastian, put his boot on his face, and tilted his head. With a whistle, he glanced up at Clary. "You might want to tell him to put some ice on that if he ever wakes up," he told her. She looked up at him with wide eyes as he winked at her and walked back into the house, leaving her with an unconscious Sebastian and a crowd of adoring fans.

* * *

**Jace - 1**

**Sebastian - 0**

**Let the games begin! Stay tuned for more!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Can't Fool Me

Jace awoke to the sunlight coming through his dorm window. He rolled over, groaning slightly and checked the alarm. If there was anything he hated, it was the fact that his internal body clock seemed to have a thing for six-thirty A.M.

Unfortunately, he knew that there was no way he was going back to bed. It didn't matter if he even wanted to, so he slowly and quietly slipped out of bed, careful not to make a sound. Jordan rolled over slightly, turning to face the wall but other than that, he showed no signs of waking up. So Jace slipped on a pair of running shorts over his sleeping boxers – leaving his chest exposed because he could - threw on some socks and tennis shoes, and slipped out the door with his room key and phone in hand.

No one in college was up this Monday morning, all sleeping in as late as possible as they recovered from the weekend festivities. So Jace made his way to the locker rooms by the field with no disturbances. He grabbed his cleats, slipping them on with his tennis shoes off, plugged up his iPod and headed towards the field.

Its mornings like this that Jace actually craved more than anything. Sure, women were great, but soccer was something that nothing could compare to. He had more freedom. No one was telling him to stay, to do this or do that. All that he had was himself, which is how it always had been. He's a loner, and he accepted that. The last thing he wanted is someone nagging him, which is why he moved all across the country from Michael. Sure, they got along fine, but Jace needed to be on his own. No questions. No attachments. No history. It was the freshest start that he could find. The peace and quiet could help him think, help him figure out just what happened this past weekend. Finally, he'd get some time to himself.

Oh, he was so wrong.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Jace demanded when he noticed the dark headed girl on the field. She was juggling away with the soccer ball at her feet, but at the sound of his voice she stopped and caught it in her hands.

She turned to face him, her eyes widening when she saw him. "Jace?" Isabelle Lightwood, dressed in nothing but running shorts and a sports bra, actually looked shocked to see him.

"Yeah, who else?" He pulled the headphones from his ears and wrapped them around his iPod. "What are you doing up so early?"

"What are you doing without a shirt?"

He glanced down at himself. "Don't say it like you don't like it," he smirked.

She laughed hysterically, more than likely at him than with him. How insulting! "I don't."

He held his hands up defensively. "Okay, ouch. Most girls swoon at the sight of my naked torso."

"You won't get that from me. And even if you did–"

"So there is a chance?" he smirked. "We really shouldn't, you know. Jordan doesn't need a broken heart just yet."

Isabelle gave him a look but actually smiled. He took the moment to really look at her, realizing how different she looked from Saturday. Gone were the – dare he say it – slutty clothes. Instead of a tube top, she had that cute, purple sports bra. It probably wasn't a coincidence that they matched her purple shorts and cleats. Her hair was done up in a simple ponytail, still falling past her shoulders. Jace couldn't help but think that Jordan really had a catch. Isabelle wasn't really his type, but she really was gorgeous. Like a princess, but with a lot more attitude than he could handle.

"Jordan and I are just friends," Isabelle pointed out. She dropped the ball, juggling it like she was before.

"With benefits?"

"With a few benefits."

"Care to share?" he teased, tossing his iPod aside.

She didn't answer with her mouth. Instead, Jace had to react instantly when he saw the soccer ball coming straight for a part of his body that didn't really care to be hit. He jumped to the side as it passed by him, waist high off the ground, and gave Isabelle an incredulous look.

"You deserved it," she smiled innocently.

He frowned. But then nodded. "Fair enough. Let me rephrase that then: Care to play some one on one so I can get you back for that?"

Isabelle's eyes sparkled with delight. "I'd love to actually. But you do realize I'm the best striker in the conference, right?"

Jace shrugged. "You do realize you're a girl, right?"

"Oh, you're so on, Wayland. Let's go."

They spent the next hour going one on one, both taking turns playing defense and offense. To his surprise, it wasn't as easy as he thought it was going to. Going against Isabelle was easy enough, even if she used her… woman abilities for evil. And when he was on defense and she had the ball, she was actually more talented than he gave her credit for. He had to be on his game and actually try in order to beat her, something he wasn't used to.

In the end, Jace ended up winning. The score? Jace: A lot. Isabelle: a little. Although he was pretty much one hundred percent sure that she'd say it was the other way around. It was hard to beat her, but he'd never admit to that.

"Not bad. You almost kept up," Isabelle teased. Jace was sitting on the bench and looked up to glare at her when his eyes almost popped out of his head.

That little son of a… she was taking her water bottle and actually poured it over her head, soaking her upper body. Jace's eyes widened as the sudden realization of what Jordan saw in her was understandable. That girl was. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.

But his mind didn't stay on it for long. For some reason, he tore his gaze away from her without too much worry. Yeah, she was hot, but Jace had to admit that there was someone else out there that really had his attention. He didn't even know what it was about her. She was feisty. She was taken. She was short. She wasn't athletic. And she was as stubborn as he was. She was just… infuriating and he felt a need take over him to protect her.

"Clary told me that she saw you Saturday," Isabelle suddenly said to pull him out of his thoughts as if she could read them. "She said you helped her out a bit with a… situation?"

Jace almost laughed, taking a swig of his drink. "Yeah, I guess you can call it that. Did she happen to say I also knocked Sebastian out?"

Isabelle sat by him on the bench, holding her now empty water bottle with both hands and leaning on her knees. The water dripped down her face and body, and Jace worried about himself as he didn't even bother to glance at her. "That got around easily enough without her talking about it. His broken nose made the word spread pretty fast on a small campus like this."

"Well, he deserved it. He was pissing me off."

"Do you always retaliate with violence or was it the alcohol that caused that?"

"Sebastian is the one that attacked me. And besides, I don't drink." Jace took another sip of his water as Isabelle's eyes widened. He shrugged. "Hey, believe it or don't believe it. All I know is that if I'm stupid enough to make idiotic mistakes, I want to remember them the next morning so I can fix it."

Isabelle stared at him like a deer in headlights. "That actually really shocks me."

"It's true though. I hate the idea of alcohol."

"Why?"

Jace paused, glancing towards the fake grass under his boot. "It's hard to explain."

Isabelle looked down at her running watch. "We've got time. I don't have class until nine."

"Me either," he said. "But I don't really want to talk about it."

Jace stood up to leave. Isabelle grabbed his arm quickly. "Wait."

He did but didn't turn back to her.

Isabelle dropped her hand when she realized he wasn't going anywhere. "Look, I don't really know how to say this, especially to someone like you, but I guess you could say that I might be kind of glad that you were there to somewhat help my friend when she was possibly in a little bit of trouble."

Jace almost cracked a smile. He slowly turned back to her, his smile showing amusement. "You might be kind of glad? Is that how someone gives a thank you in this part of the country?"

"It's as good as your going to get out of me."

And he didn't doubt her for a second.

"But seriously," she continued. "I worry about her, so… thank you for being there."

Jace nodded but frowned. "If you worry, maybe you shouldn't leave her alone at some party. You could've stopped it as much as I did. I'm sure Sebastian would've cowered away from you as much as he did me."

Isabelle nodded, a small smile pulling at her lips. "I'm not going to agree with you on that, just because" she said. He heard the agreement enough in her voice though, and the worry as well.

"Why are you so worried about her anyway?"

To his surprise, Isabelle suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable. "As you've probably guessed, Clary tells me everything." It wasn't that hard of an idea to accept. "She and Maia might be good friends, but everyone has that one friend that they literally tell their life to. I'm Clary's. So I know exactly what happened, how she felt, and I also know she's too stubborn to thank you on her own. That's what gets her in trouble in the first place. She runs off thinking she can handle situations when in reality, she's not as strong as she thinks."

"I don't know. I think that she could pack quite a punch of she wanted to. She just has to be taught how."

"Yeah, there's a fire in her, but she doesn't know how to control it. She normally gets burnt by her own doing. And since Sebastian started his little game with her–"

"It's not a game," Jace interrupted. His anger soared at the thought. "Girls aren't just some kind of a toy in a game."

"I know that, but Sebastian thinks so."

"If I've learned anything during this past weekend, it's that you and Jordan were right," Jace growled. His fists had tightened and were constricting his water bottled as he stared at the grass in anger. "Sebastian really is a piece of work."

"And Clary still chooses him. It's unbelievable."

"Does she not know how to say no? Why won't she just stop associating herself with him?" Jace wondered.

Isabelle sighed, twisting the end of her ponytail around her finger. "Honestly, she doesn't really tell me."

"I thought she tells you everything."

"She does. But I don't think she'll tell me until she actually knows herself." Jace's face contorted into one of confusion. "She's not exactly good at this kind of stuff. In high school, Clary never really had that many guys gawking after her. She didn't know what it was like to have attention."

"What does that have to do with Sebastian?"

"He's the first and only guy to really show interest. Ever."

"Okay?" Jace held his hand up, then ran it through his sweaty hair. "Okay. So… she's with some jackass so she doesn't have to be alone? That's her reasoning?"

Isabelle shrugged. "That's what I've come up with. I have a feeling there's something else though. She's not the kind of person to let someone dictate her life, and yet Sebastian is still in the picture."

"She's going to get hurt."

"I think she knows that much."

The events at the party ran back through Jace's mind: Clary's body against his, the smell of her hair, the fire in her green eyes, the beauty of her skin, the emotions that flashed like Christmas lights across her face. She really was a sight to see, but could no one else see that? And out of everyone, why did it have to be Verlac? She's so innocent, so fragile from what he saw. Sure, he was still kind of a jerk to her, but he'd never actually hurt her. It was just fooling around, not jerking around.

He sighed, dropping his hand until it slapped against his leg. "How can someone be with a guy that treats her so poorly? I thought she was more headstrong than that. Smarter."

"She is." Isabelle actually looked a bit insulted. "Clary just hasn't been taught how. She knows what she wants in life, but not in relationships. She's never had to think about it."

"Well, she better start thinking. She can do better."

Isabelle snorted, catching his attention. "Don't act like you're the good guy in this. You said that all guys want at this age are sex."

He got defensive. "That doesn't mean you treat girls like trash. I'm not some dick that sleeps with girls and throws them away. Sure, I keep my distance, but that doesn't mean I consider girls usable. Jesus, who do you think I am?"

"I'm sorry," Isabelle muttered. "I guess I just figured–"

"Then, don't assume next time," he snapped, grabbing his stuff from the bench and immediately started to head towards the locker rooms.

"Jace?" Isabelle just stood there as he stalked off, ignoring her pleas, and he was glad that he was done with the confrontation when she didn't follow. He didn't want to talk about it anymore. He wasn't a womanizer. Yes, he flirted and acted all high and mighty, and even had his fair share of women, but he never treated any of them like shit. He didn't want to be thought of like that back home, and he definitely didn't want to be thought of like that here. Yet, here was another judgmental person, assuming he was some kind of dick that used girls for entertainment.

Jace shoved his headphones in his ears and tried his best to block out the image of the redhead that kept showing up behind his eyelids. He didn't really know her, but he couldn't deny the fact that he really wanted to.

* * *

Clary's pencil moved in graceful strokes, forwards, backwards, side to side, shading, erasing, doing whatever she needed it to. It was the only thing she was graceful or good at, but hey, she'd take it. While she was below average in every other aspect of the world, she excelled and overcame everything in art.

It was the best way for her to escape too. Isabelle used sports and athleticism. Simon used video games and music. Maia used a little bit of everything to distract her. But while they all did that, Clary would just take her pencil and sketchbook, her paint and easel, or anything else outside and just go with it. It made her feel a connection with her mother and helped her relax. Being away at college could get lonely, and her mother traveled so much, Clary never knew what number to call. Nowadays, she just learned to wait to receive one, so the art kept that small piece that she needed.

So now, she just sat in the rocking chairs outside of one of the dorm buildings, her feet propped up on the wall in front of her. She was currently drawing two little squirrels a few yards away, gnawing away at some nuts from under an oak tree. Something about the nature of them always captured her and she loved drawing animals. People were interesting, but animals were so much more readable, and she liked the lack of complication that went along with them.

"What you drawing there, gorgeous?" a voice said from behind her.

Clary tilted her head back to see Sebastian hovering over her, looking down at her painting with his head tilted to the side. His broken nose has healed in the week since the fight with Jace, and he was back to being his handsome, charming self. As if he didn't realize he did it, his hand came down over her shoulder, squeezing slightly and protectively.

She smiled, looking back at the drawing. "Just some boring old stuff," she said, keeping it short on purpose. He never really cared about her art, only asked because he felt obligated to do so.

"Well, that's nice. What are you doing later tonight?"

Clary paused. "I think Isabelle mentioned something about going to a movie. What else are you supposed to do on a Monday night in the middle of the North Georgia Mountains?"

"That's easy," he cued and bent down, his mouth close to her ear as he kissed her hair. "Spend it with me. We could have fun too."

Those butterflies in her stomach started up. "I promised Izzy I would go. She's got a group going."

"Then I can tag along."

Clary tensed. Butterflies were now replaced with nausea. "That might not be the best idea."

"Why not? Don't you want me there?"

She really did. She then again, she didn't. It was a seesaw match between the two. "You know I do," she slightly lied.

Sebastian moved to the side of the rocking chair, squatting down until he was eye level with her. "So what's the problem babe? You want me there. I want to be there. We can hang out at my room afterwards. It'll be fun. You look like you could use some fun."

She closed her sketchbook and hooked her pencil at the top, looking Sebastian straight in the eyes. She wasn't sure how to tell him this, but she knew that his reaction wasn't going to be a good one.

"There's a lot of people you don't like that's going," she started with.

Sebastian shrugged one shoulder. "I can handle Simon and Maia. Yeah, they're weird, but I promise I won't threaten that scrawny kid this time."

"This time," she mumbled, rolling her eyes and immediately stopped when Sebastian's gaze turned the slightest bit angry. "Sorry," she apologized. "I just don't think it's a good idea for you to be there."

"Too bad, I'm going."

"But–"

"No buts."

"But Jace is going," she said softly, waiting for the anger to sprout and grow.

He stared at her for a moment, taking in what she said. When his brain comprehended it, his dark eyes slit and he leaned back from her. "You don't want me to go because Wayland is going? That implies all kinds of shit that makes me want to bash his face in."

"I don't want you two to fight again."

"No, you just want to let him in your pants," he grumbled.

"Seb!" Clary screamed. "That's not true!"

He sat back on the concrete floor, leaning back on his hands and looking up at her. He looked casual but hostile, like he'd fight with the first person he saw but holding back. "That's how it looked at the party."

"I was drinking."

"Doesn't matter."

Clary slit her eyes at him. "It's not like you don't sleep with other girls."

"That's different."

Her eyes widened. "HOW?"

"It just is!" he snapped. She flinched at his tone, cowering away from him. "Look, I get that we're not together, but I don't want you around him. He's not good for you. So I'm going tonight, whether he is or not. What time do I have to pick you up?"

Clary swallowed against the bile in her throat. "Uh, Simon is taking us in his van. I think Jordan's driving too."

"Well, we're driving separately." Sebastian hopped up to his feet, looking casual. It was like he never got upset at all. His ability to change emotions that quickly was unnerving. "So, what time?"

She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I guess six."

"Great," he smiled, leaning down and kissing her on the lips. She wasn't too enthusiastic about it but kissed him back in order to keep him under control. "I'll see you then," he whispered before heading towards the stairs without a second glance at her.

* * *

Clary walked back into the suite with her sketchbook tucked under her arm. She was a bit distressed, not sure how to tell Isabelle about the change of plans. Surely, she'd be pissed, but Clary couldn't really do anything about it. Sebastian was… forceful. Persuasive. And very, very possessive in the past week.

Aline and Helen were seating in the living room on the couch, looking at some kind of magazine. Clary slowly walked by, greeting each of them with a wave. Helen smiled but Aline looked weary, not the normal look of disappointment Clary was expecting. But Clary just ignored it, heading into her room she shared with Isabelle.

"Hey, there she is," Isabelle chimed from her bed. Clary froze when she looked that direction, finding none other than Jace lying down next to Isabelle.

He barely gave her a second glance, and she wasn't really sure how to act. They'd yet to communicate since the party incident, keeping a good distance between each other. He pretty much ignored her, while she couldn't stop her from glancing in his direction just to look. He and Isabelle were friends of course, but Clary was much too awkward for a situation like this.

"Uh, hey," Clary said lamely, heading to her bed and hopping up on it, her back against the wall.

Isabelle sat up, bumping Jace in the process who gave her a dirty look. "How was the artist alone time? Get a lot of soul searching accomplished? Figure out your morals in life? Set your standards?"

Jace chuckled, shaking his head as he looked at the TV.

Clary just nodded, genuinely confused. "Uh, yeah. It was good I guess."

"That's all I get?"

Clary shrugged, placing her book on the desk by her bed and closing her eyes. She probably looked distressed, which is exactly how she felt, but she couldn't help it that her feelings were just out there on display.

"Looks to me like something happened." She opened her eyes as Jace perked up at that, and Clary tried her best to ignore the golden gaze heading her direction. "Come on, start talking," she demanded.

Clary just shrugged again. "Nothing."

"Spit it out, Clary. Don't make me force it out of you."

"That explains why she tells you everything. You're a pusher," Jace mumbled loud enough for both the girls to hear. Isabelle slapped him on the shoulder, and he gave her a glare back.

There was no point in fighting is, so Clary took a moment to gather herself. She didn't really like the idea of Jace being there. She didn't want to deal with his reaction too. And she didn't like the way he was looking at her. His golden gaze practically burned through her. The overwhelming feeling to go to him came over her but she pushed it down with everything she had, pulling her legs to her chest to keep her there. "Sebastian is coming tonight," she mumbled so low they couldn't hear.

Jace and Isabelle exchanged confused expressions. "Uh, come again?" Isabelle demanded.

"Yeah, Ariel, I think we might have misheard that last statement," he teased with tenseness to him.

Clary sighed. "Sebastian is coming tonight."

"Okay, hold up," Jace raised his hand as he sat up straight in Isabelle's bed, looking at Clary with slight astonishment and a tad of anger. "You invited that rat bastard?"

"No! He… kind of invited himself."

"That doesn't even surprise me one bit," Isabelle muttered, sinking into the bed. Her hair was a mess against the pillows, but somehow she still looked beautiful. Clary envied her for that.

Jace pulled one leg to him, draping his arm over it and looked like he was thinking. He glanced down at Isabelle. "We could just change the plans."

"That will only make Sebastian angry," Clary said. "I like him better when he's actually in a good mood."

Jace rolled his eyes. Clary caught a hint of something else too, but she bit her lip to keep herself from commenting on it as he looked away from her.

"So, what else?" Isabelle asked. "He's probably going to make you ride separately, like he always does. He'll make you sit alone, in the back or the front, whichever is farthest away from us. You won't even associate with us all night if he's there. It's how it always is. This was supposed to be a friend's thing, so either we're pissed off or he is."

Jace shook his head, glaring at Isabelle's black sheets as he picked at them. "I really want to just punch him in the face. The first time wasn't satisfying enough."

"Okay, let's get one thing straight," Clary said with an authority. Jace's eyes met hers, and her stature almost faltered a minute. Luckily, she recovered before anyone noticed. "I know that you all don't like Seb. Yes, he can be a jerk. But he can be really sweet when he wants to be, okay? He doesn't deserve the shit you guys give him. He treats me good."

"When he wants to?" Jace asked with a raised eyebrow.

From the living room, Clary could hear Aline laughing with agreement but she ignored that. Clary glared at him. "More than you think."

He rolled his eyes, clearly not believing her. "I just know one thing, and I'm getting it out now. You deserve better." Isabelle nodded, nudging Jace in the shoulder. He looked back at her, winking once before turning back to Clary.

Now, she was intrigued. The way those two were acting wasn't just friends. And no way did they become best buddies in a week. Besides, Isabelle was supposed to be with Jordan. She was supposed to be interested in him. If she lost interest in him, she was supposed to go to Simon. That's how it was going to work in Clary's mind. Now, some blond California dream boat is ruining that. She couldn't help but watch them wearily, staring accidently until Jace finally spoke.

"What _are_ you staring at?"

"What's going on with you two?" She pointed between them.

Isabelle glanced to Jace, and then burst out laughing. Jace chuckled slightly too, shaking his head. "Oh, Clary," he said with a catch in his voice. "Your artistic little mind is drawing the strangest of conclusions."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, and I repeat, nothing is going on between us," Isabelle emphasized when she came down from her laughing. "Jace and I are just friends. We've gotten close, yeah, but we're never crossing that line."

He smirked, a glint in his eyes. "I mean, if you want too…"

"No, Jace," Isabelle smiled, shoving his shoulder away from her. "God, you're such a pig."

Clary caught his face as he took in what Isabelle said, and that's when she saw it. Most guys would just take it and laugh it off, but when Jace turned away his face changed. He went from amused to something different. She had to really focus to catch it, and even when she did, she couldn't tell what it was. Either way, it wasn't pride or amusement, and that shocked her.

* * *

"What about this one?" Clary called, stepping out of the bathroom and into her dorm room.

The first thing she noticed was Jace's eyes going right to her, once again, blatantly looking her up and down with a blank expression. Despite his lack of emotion, she felt a shiver run down her spine. If only he'd leave! She could actually have some peace in here. Instead, he somehow found refuge on her bed now in the time that passed before heading out. And he had no problem with just staring at her. Plus, her body was blushing so much in the past hour she was sure her blood pressure was through the roof by now. Clary wasn't sure how much she could take of having him around like this. She hoped this wouldn't become a daily thing.

Isabelle was suddenly in her view, her fingers tapping her chin as she thought. "Turn." Clary did, looking completely annoyed as she turned in the dress and heels. It was hard considering she was completely uncoordinated, but she succeeded in the end. "I don't know about this dress."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jace collapsed on the bed. "Isabelle, you've made her try on eight different outfits. Just pick one."

"She has to look good," she shot back.

"She looks great already without you putting all the crap on her."

Clary's eyes widened and met Jace's admiring ones. She wasn't sure what to say to that, and his expression changed when he realized what he said. It went from admiring to sincere instantly. Not blank and heartless. Her heart started pounding harder than before under his gaze, like she was a captive and as long as he was looking at her, she couldn't look away. Even worse, she didn't want to.

But Isabelle pulled her out of Jace's spell when she scoffed. "She needs to look fantastic, elegant, beautiful. Not great."

"Not for that jackass." Jace plopped back on the bed with his hands behind his head. His black shirt rode up, showing a bit of his v-lines and abs and Clary forced herself to look away.

Isabelle nodded, grabbing Clary's hand and pulling her towards the bathroom door. "Maybe not for him, but she still needs to look the part for the rest of the world."

"I already told you," he called before Isabelle shut the door. "She looks great without you messing with her!"

Isabelle pushed Clary towards the mirror, grabbed a couple pins from the counter, and started messing with her hair. Clary stayed silent, still in shock about Jace and looked at her in the mirror.

The dress Isabelle put her in was one of the many designer ones hanging in their joint closet. The green at the top was dark, slowly fading as it went down to the bottom rim about mid-thigh. It wasn't skin tight, but it wasn't very flowy either, and a brown belt tightened around her waist. At least it wasn't strapless like the others. She was happy when Isabelle showed her it had spaghetti straps. Then Clary didn't have to worry about it falling off. Overall, it looked good but the whole outfit was just more than uncomfortable.

"There," Isabelle announced as she stepped back. "All done."

Clary's hair was done up in a bun at the back of her head, a few pieces falling down her face that Isabelle had curled more than the rest. It framed her face pretty well, but she'd rather just have it down to cover the bareness of her shoulders.

"Now, you look amazing," Isabelle emphasized, stepping back with a proud smile. "Damn, I'm good."

"What about you?" Clary asked.

"Don't worry about me, honey. I'm wearing that light red, strapless dress with my red high heels. It'll show anything and everything."

"Subtle," Clary teased.

Isabelle smiled and winked before walking back towards their room. "I'm anything but subtle, honey."

* * *

Jace stared up at the ceiling from Clary's bed, his mind racing. He felt comfortable in her bed, on her sheets, with her scent, around everything that was her. The only thing he really needed was her as well, but that couldn't happen anytime soon. He knew that. Isabelle knew that, despite the fact she was desperately trying to play matchmaker at the moment. It was kind of getting on his nerves a bit.

Although it was pretty amusing too. She kept dropping subtle hints to the both of them. Jace would just laugh, shake it off, and then deal with it. But every time Isabelle said something remotely personal around Clary, she'd blush. She'd pull her legs to her chest. She'd stop the eye contact. It didn't matter if it had anything to do with Jace or not. It was just easy for Isabelle to tease her and Jace took mental notes the whole time. He'd definitely be using those in the future.

But now, he felt like Isabelle was trying to tease him instead of Clary, and not in the same way. Isabelle was evil. Every outfit Clary tried on showed way too much skin, emphasized way too much of her hips and her chest, and he wasn't sure how much he could take before he just tells her that he's attracted to her. He made it obvious at the party, but she probably thought he was drunk. She didn't know about his no alcohol policy, so there was no point in bringing it up either. But if she asked, he isn't afraid to say it. But he's afraid to say it _with_ a look that shows he actually means it. That's what worried him. He was always that guy that did one or the other. No girl ever got both: the words along with the look. Isabelle was really pushing the limit though.

He sighed, looking up as the girls came back into the room. He wanted to say something sarcastic but his breath caught when Clary came out.

Isabelle cleared her throat, catching Jace's eyes as she winked and got her own clothes. He glared at her. She knew exactly what she was doing to him, and he'd make her pay.

"How's she look?" Isabelle asked, slipping on her own dress over her head.

Jace swallowed and looked to Clary, finding her piercing green eyes on him. They looked worried, like she was scared he'd insult her. How could he though? With the hair, the new make-up, that fucking dress. She was... gorgeous, but he couldn't stay that! "I think her hair is a bit too much. It looks better down. We're going to a movie, not meeting the Queen of England." He hoped to God that nobody noticed the small waver in his voice.

"For once, I couldn't agree more," she said, reaching up to take the pins out and letting it fall around her shoulders. Jace had to take a deep breath at the sight and really struggled to not grab her right there.

Isabelle, surprisingly, didn't move to stop her. She wasn't even looking at Clary but at Jace. A knowing look in her eyes told Jace that's what she planned. She wanted him to fucking say that. Damn her.

* * *

"Jace," Isabelle hissed in his ear at the theater. "Would you stop bouncing your leg? You're shaking the whole row."

"I can't help it."

"If you don't like it, do something about it."

He glanced back at her, her face illuminating every few seconds as the movie flashed brighter and lower. She was giving him a look mixed with amusement and dares.

This wasn't the first time in the night that she'd said something to him. It had happened again and again, and even Jace was getting annoyed with himself, but he really hoped Isabelle was the one and only person that noticed.

It started when Sebastian came to pick up Clary in the suite. He knocked on the door a little too loud. He sounded a little too annoyed. He grabbed Clary a little too roughly and pulled her out without a word to the rest of them. And Jace was just a little too close to ripping the guy's teeth out. The team could survive without that bastard, right?

Next, it was when they first got to the theater. Jace and everyone else piled out of Simon's van and Jordan's car, but he didn't care about the rest of them. His eyes were searching the parking lot for Seb's vehicle. And when he found it, he slammed the door to the van a little too loud. Seb was pretty much sucking face with Clary, and Jace watched as she reacted to him, tightening his fists in anger. He wondered if she actually liked it, if she actually liked the rough, demanding jerks that forced her into stuff like that. Because that's what she was with and didn't seem to protest it.

But now he was wondering if he was going to snap by the time the night was over. His hands gripped his pants to keep his legs still, and five rows down, he watched the horror unfold before him.

Sebastian had moved his arm around Clary, pulling her towards him and whispering something in her ear. She laughed, looking up at him and smiling, when he suddenly kissed her out of nowhere. Her eyebrows rose in shock and pulled away, a smile on her face. Jace could tell that it wasn't real though. Something was off about it. Sebastian's was real and sadistic as he tried again, but Clary turned and he ended up kissing her cheek, looking upset. She settled into his side though, and that seemed to satisfy him.

It wasn't until Jace saw Sebastian's hand move behind Clary that he realized the bastard was flipping him off like he knew Jace was watching.

"Are you just going to take that?" Isabelle teased low enough to where he's the only one that heard.

Jace sighed, sinking in his theater seat. "What do you expect me to do? Run down there and beat him into next week? Because believe me, I want to."

Jordan leaned forward, looking at Jace. "I'd pay you a hundred dollars if it'll stop your constant complaining."

Isabelle laughed, slapping Jordan's chest playfully. He shrugged and leaned back again, focusing on the movie while rubbing circles on Isabelle's knee.

Jace really did try to focus on the movie after that, but he just couldn't get into it. He had no idea what was happening at this point and couldn't care less. Whoever was acting might as well have been invisible. All he had was a certain redhead that he wanted to rip away from his new worst enemy.

"I want to leave," Jace pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey, Wayland," Simon called over Maia to his left. "Shut the hell up, man. Some of us are actually enjoying ourselves, and your kind of ruining it."

Jace's redirected his furious gaze. "I may not be able to touch Sebastian right now, but don't think I won't beat you into next week, twerp. Don't push me."

Maia turned on Jace. "Touch him, and we're going to have serious problems. You're already on my list, so don't make it worse for yourself. Got it, jackass?"

"Ooo, kill em," Simon chuckled.

Jace flicked him off quickly, not focusing enough to do anything else and turned his attention to the pair in front of him. It was at that moment, Clary got up. Jace stiffened and watched as she stood from her seat, bent down to say something to Sebastian in his ear, and turned to walk out. She was almost gone from sight when she turned back, and Jace could tell she was looking at him. With a nod, he got the picture and stood, ignoring the comments from Isabelle and Jordan before following the stubborn redhead out of the theater.

He didn't even make it out of the door before he was constricted by a small, freckled hand. She grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him into a dark supply closet without a word, shutting the door as quickly as possible.

He staggered, gripping the wall in surprise so he didn't fall on his ass and was wide eyed when Clary switched the light on. She didn't look playful like normal girls would be when trapped in a supply closet with him. Instead, she looked incensed. Mix that with her outfit, and it was downright sexy. Jace was going to struggle keeping his hands to himself.

"Cut the shit out, Jace," she snapped. Her arms crossed over her chest in a small female statue of rage. "Whatever it is you're doing, stop. You've been doing it all night and it's screwing me over."

He looked genuinely dumbfounded, slowly straightening up. "Um, I don't know what you're–"

"Yes you do."

"I really don't."

"Don't play stupid."

Jace backed towards the other wall until his shoulder hit it and tried to look as casual as possible. In reality, his entire body felt the need to just grab her and kiss her, but he had to at least look somewhat put together. "Look, all I'm doing is wishing that he was dead. That's it."

Clary rolled her eyes. "It's more than that."

"No, it's not."

"Well, it's pissing him off. I don't want to deal with him when he's like this."

Jace's eyebrows rose. "Like what?"

She flushed suddenly. "You – you know what."

"No, I don't," he said innocently. "Enlighten me."

Her eyes slit. "Don't pester me."

"I'm curious," he smirked.

"You're obnoxious."

"Am I?" he asked, pushing himself off the wall. Clary's eyes widened as he slowly advanced on her against his own will. His mind kept telling him to stop, but his arms and legs moved on their own accord.

She visibly swallowed sinking back against the door. Her eyes raked him up and down, and he smirked knowing she was checking him out. "Y – yes. You a – are."

"You're articulation skills don't do you justice." He was just in front of her now and his hands came up, his palms pressing against the door to either side of her head. He took in the scent of her perfume, his eyes bore into hers. God, she smelled amazing and Isabelle did a damn good job picking out the outfit. It was sexy as hell.

"I – I have to get back before Sebastian realizes were both gone," she whispered softly, not a drop of conviction in her voice. Her eyes were on his lips instead of his eyes. "I don't want to know what he'd do if he found out we're in here."

Jace dropped his head until his mouth was just by her ear. "Let him find out."

"It would be hell to pay."

Jace ran his right hand down Clary's arm, causing her to shiver and him to smile. "Is that a problem?"

She nodded. He sighed, hating the fact that she felt the need to please that bastard. It was like he was her first priority, like she just wanted to make him happy when he really just made her blind of her own misery. That's when he realized how bad of an idea this was.

"Then maybe you should get back," he said as he pulled away completely. His hands fell. Her eyes – he didn't realize they were closed – widened as they opened with astonishment. "Wouldn't want Sebastian to break out of his good mood, now do we?"

He actually found amusement in the way she was flustered, but pushed it off the surface. Her chest was rising and falling quickly. Her lips were parted, either in a gasp or in expectation, he wasn't sure. He wished it was the latter. Actually, he really hoped it was the latter. All he wanted was to kiss her, to hold her, to touch her and give her whatever she needed.

But he couldn't. He had to stop! This wasn't him. Jace didn't really care. Especially about girls who didn't care about him. Yes, he was a gentlemen at least, but he wasn't supposed to feel anything. That's what got his father hurt, and he refused to be like Michael. Jace was not going to go through that. He didn't want to put himself in that position, to give someone that kind of power over him.

He had to stay away from her then. Clary, what little time they'd spent together, had made an impact on him like none other. That was the problem. Isabelle was going to kill him, but he couldn't do it. He shouldn't do it. If he was smart, he'd get out now.

"Actually, yeah. You're right. We really should go," he announced when neither of them had moved. So he grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the door and opened it. He didn't give her a second glance as he stepped out and walked back into the theater, heading right for his seat. Sliding back next to Isabelle, he fell back against the seat, suddenly exhausted.

It didn't take long for Isabelle to comment. "What took you two so long?"

"We talked. We argued. I left. End of story."

"What? No heated make out or anything?"

Jace sighed, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "Isabelle, stop playing around. I don't care what you think, but Clary and I can't be together. She's determined to stay with that him and I don't feel like getting torn apart from the inside out by someone like her. Got it? It's not going to be worth it in the end."

Isabelle recoiled slightly, slitting her eyes at him in the darkness. "Alright. Alright, yeah, I hear you." She paused. "But I don't agree with you." She turned to face the movie again, leaning over towards him instead of towards Jordan. "And you can't fool me, Jace."

"Just drop it," he demanded and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding when she nodded and leaned away. Then he caught his breath again when he noticed Clary walking back in. She was rubbing her eyes as she walked, and as she turned back to Sebastian's row, her eyes met Jace's.

And he immediately turned away, refusing to give her the satisfaction that he still wanted her as bad as before. If not more so. But that couldn't happen. He couldn't put himself through the pain, the heartbreak. He wouldn't be like Michael. He refused to give that power over, but dammit if every part of his body didn't want to just to get a few minutes alone with her.

"Fuck," he murmured to himself, settling in his seat and praying the movie would end soon.

* * *

**Just saying a MASSIVE thank you to those that are reviewing! And for those that constantly review, a MASSIVE MASSIVE thank you! It makes my day.**

**Stay tuned :)**


	4. Chapter 4 - I Know More Than You Think

The next few weeks went by like before. Clary spent a lot of time with Sebastian, much to everyone's irritation. And she spent most of it in his room. That wasn't because she really wanted to, because she was seriously missing her friends the more she was gone, but the reason she was there all the time was because someone else was always in her room, and she didn't even want to look at him.

For some reason, even though Jace had acted in the supply closet that he pretty much wanted her, he avoided everything about her if she was around now. They might as well have been invisible to each other. They wouldn't look at each other, speak, associate themselves, or acknowledge one another's existence. Granted, it was nice at times, but it made her feel off. And not only that…

Sometimes it really got on her nerves. If they'd be sitting in her room, Jace on Isabelle's bed and as far away from her as possible while they watched a movie, she couldn't stop herself from sneaking glances at him. Even if she just came from Sebastian's, it was like something still pulled her to Jace. Like a moth with light. And the way he acts, she'd only get burned the more she wanted to get closer. It was literally going to drive her insane.

She was pretty sure Sebastian knew too. If they were at the soccer games, he'd catch her staring at Jace and wasn't afraid to confront her about it. The movie night was one thing and all Jace's fault, but now the blame could easily be on her. The terrifying part was when he got angry. It was bad so she tried her best to keep him under control, doing everything she could to show him that her interest in Jace wasn't real. Sure, she was practically lying to herself, but she'd rather have Sebastian than Jace. They had history, where Jace was just being a dick on principle. Neither of them are all that great for her, but at least one showed interest.

Either way, she knew what she really needed to focus on. It wasn't Sebastian, Jace, or anyone else. She was in college. Sure, she wanted to have fun, but she was there to get her art degree, move to New York, to start her own gallery. Sebastian wasn't going to be there with her for that, and she was ninety percent sure that Jace was going back to California when he graduates. So there was no point. She was here for the fun, and Sebastian alone was actually a lot of fun.

She glanced back at him as she really thought about that. Yeah, he was fun, entertaining, and although he lacked a sense of humor, decent social skills, and respect, he made up for it in other aspects.

One being he was hot. Really hot. Not Jace hot, but hot. He was currently lying on his bed in his gym shorts, one arm behind his head and the other on his stomach as he watched TV. Something about him reminded her of a darker prince charming that she used to draw when she was younger. His charcoal hair, his darker eyes, his tanned skin. It was all like out of a princess's story, like Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid. Except… not quite as caring.

"I thought you were working on you project," he said with little emotion. His eyes were still glued to the TV, barely noticing her.

"I am."

He sighed. "Well, staring at me isn't getting it done."

"Is staring at you a bad thing?" she asked cautiously. Her hands played with the end of her sweatshirt – well Sebastian's sweatshirt – when she got nervous.

"No. I'd rather you look at me than Wayland." His voice had an edge of annoyance to it.

Clary sighed, turning back to the computer desk where her Drawing Book was sitting on an open page. She didn't want to talk about this again, and again, and again. It was getting old that every other sentence had to be about Jace.

Her phone buzzed at that moment. Clary saw the message from Isabelle: _Text me when you're coming back. You know, _if_ you coming back. Which you better be. Just saying._

"What? No comment?" Sebastian teased with venom.

She was already starting to get a headache from this and she dropped her head to her hands. Now she not only had to deal with Seb, but Jace was currently residing in her head for the time being as well. "Not now, Sebastian. I have to get started on this project or I'm never going to finish it. It's due next week and I've yet to start."

"You know what's funny?" The bed springs squeaked as he sat up, turning the TV off. Silence settled over the room when Clary didn't answer. "Alright. Well, what's funny is you always want to change the subject when I bring him up."

She didn't comment again. Her hand gripped her pencil and she just started to randomly draw on the blank slate before her, hoping her silence would stop Sebastian's interest. It didn't.

His hands came around her, both to either side of her against the computer desk as he leaned over it. His head was right at her ear and she could smell the musky scent that always came off of him. She used to find it enduring, but now she was starting to develop a feeling of wanting to escape from it for some reason.

"When I start a conversation, I expect you to talk back, Clarissa, in the exact same one. Not starting another." His voice was low and demanding, causing Clary to shiver.

She gripped the pencil tighter in her hand at the sound of her full name. She hated when people used it, and he knew that. "I'll talk about anything other than Jace."

"Why?"

"Because he's an asshole."

"Well, so am I," he chuckled at her ear. His breath brushed her hair forward. She couldn't argue with that statement. She had realized in the past few weeks that all men are assholes. It's as simple as that. "You still stick around. So I'm going to ask one more time." He pulled his hand back, gripping her shoulder. "Why won't you talk about Jace?"

"Why do you want me to?"

She was suddenly spun in the roller chair, and then stopped again. Sebastian leaned over as he pushed her backwards towards the desk. The back of the chair hit it forcefully and a hint of fear set in as Clary looked anywhere but his gaze. She didn't want to see the anger, the hostility. The last thing she wanted was to provoke him and have this turn south.

He didn't say a word as he looked at her. He just squatted down between her legs, pulling her closer to him slowly as he sat eye level with her. His hand came up, grabbing her chin and forcing their eyes to meet. "Now, are we going to be able to talk about this in a civilized manor or are you going to answer my questions with questions?"

"Do I really have a choice?" she asked without thinking, suddenly regretting it. Sebastian's eyes flashed with annoyance. "I mean, I – I don't really know what to say when it comes to him."

"Why not?"

She swallowed. Suddenly, the bright, white walls felt like they were constricting. She felt trapped. If only Sebastian had a roommate that could walk in and stop this. But no. Of course he wouldn't. "He's… confusing."

"How so?"

Clary thought for a moment. Jace's golden eyes popped in her head. His blonde curls. His cheeky grin. His chipped tooth. His ability to make her want him without even trying. And his ability to crush her for unknown reasons with the simplest of words or actions. Or even worse, crushing her with anything at all. "I don't know."

Sebastian raised one eye brow. "I think you do."

"I – I do but I don't." She really hoped that made sense. "I don't know what it is. Just," she paused, looking down and then meeting his dark eyes again. "Can we stop talking about him? Can we talk about something else?"

He didn't look to happy about that idea, but then a small smile settled over his face. Her stomach stopped the tightening and the worry faded when it showed. At least he wasn't angry with her anymore. He nodded, leaned in and kissed her. "No, but we can _do_ something else," he suggested, grabbing the back of her legs as she was pulled onto his hips and carried to the bed.

* * *

Clary stepped into the hallway of their suite, closing the door behind her and leaning against it. For the first time in weeks, she actually sighed in content. She and Sebastian had… fun. Believe it or not. For the first time since Jace came into the picture, Sebastian stopped bringing him up after the first time she asked him to. They didn't fight or argue once it was done and over with. They just lied on his bed, him playing with her hair and kissing her face when he felt like it. He even let her put in The Little Mermaid and didn't make any comments about it. It was so peaceful between them that she almost didn't want to leave.

But she had to. Isabelle would literally kill her if she stayed the night there – hence the attitude text that she just realized she never responded to - and she didn't want to get that crap from her best friend. Getting it occasionally was bad enough, and Simon started to add onto it as well, so having it escalade at all would push her off the deep end.

So she pushed herself off the front door, a smile on her face as she walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Isabelle glanced up when she strut in. "Well, look who came home at a reasonable hour for once."

"Sorry." She really wasn't actually. Clary looked around immediately, finding nothing but an slightly open bathroom door and her empty bed. No Jace. "What did you do today?" Clary asked, tossing her bag on the floor and jumping on her bed face first. Her hair flew everywhere as she snuggled into her pillow, her mouth twisted up in a half smile.

Isabelle shrugged, flipping through her fashion magazine. "You know, the usual."

"So… kicking ass at practice, flirting with Simon to do your homework and study guides, then going home with Jordan to Jace's room in the end?" Isabelle gave Clary a dirty look which only caused the redhead to laugh. "I'm just saying that's what a usual day is to you. Except sometimes you switch it up and bring him here instead."

"Is that a problem?"

"No."

"Didn't think so," she shot back, going back to having her nose in her magazine.

Clary glared at Isabelle's attitude but didn't say anything about it. The last thing she wanted was to fight. Everything had gone well for the most part today, and she didn't want to end it with a fight against her best friend at midnight.

Her mind kept going back to her time with Sebastian against her own will, but for the first time in forever she didn't mind. If he could be like that all the time, he'd be a perfect boyfriend! All she wanted was a guy that cares about her, and he did today. She smiled at the thought. Maybe things were looking up for their relationship. Maybe it could happen someday.

She snuggled into the pillow with a blatant and wide smile, her eyes closing at the peaceful feeling.

"You might want to change before you pass out for the night."

Clary opened her eyes, looking over at Isabelle. "Maybe I want to sleep in jeans and his sweatshirt."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"Alright, what is your problem?" Clary sat up angrily, her legs dangling on the side of her bed. "Did I do something?"

"Nope," Isabelle answered, popping the 'p' with her lips and turning the page of her magazine.

That wasn't very convincing. "So, you're just being short and rude for no particular reason?"

"First of all, I'm five inches taller than you. I'm not short. Second, you like being around rude people, so I figured I'd give it a try."

Clary recoiled. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Jesus Christ," Clary exclaimed. "What's got your panties in a twist?"

She expected some kind of snarky retort, but Isabelle just sighed instead. Her hands lowered the magazine to her stomach and her eyes closed. "A lot."

Clary leaned forward. "Like?"

There was a pause. "My usual day wasn't quite as usual as you would think."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… Jordan blew me off today."

Clary's eyes widened. Her curiosity picked up immediately as well. "Really?" She tried her best not to be excited for Maia, and was secretly hoping that that was the reason Jordan blew Isabelle off. Sure, that sounded bad, but it was how it was supposed to be in the end. "Why?"

Isabelle shrugged and opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. "I don't know. I just got to his room and he wasn't there. Jace told me that he had already left and didn't tell him where he was going, so neither of us knew what was going on."

"What did you end up doing?" Clary tried not to sound too interested, but she couldn't help it.

"We came back here and hung out for a while. I wasn't in the mood to see Jordan and I knew that you weren't going to be back for," she paused, "Well, I honestly wasn't expecting you to come back this time."

Clary recoiled. "What? Why?"

Isabelle sat up slowly, turning her head towards Clary like a mother disapproving of her children. "You've been staying over there later and later. I'd rather you just stay the night instead of waking me up at three in the morning like you have lately. Plus, you didn't text me back so I figured that shit went down again."

That was confusing to say the least. "Wait a minute. You _want_ me to stay over there?"

"God no!"

"Then… what?..."

Isabelle sighed, falling back against the bed. Her tank top had ridden up from her waist, but she didn't bother to fix it. "Look, Clary, I just like my sleep, okay? Waking up in the middle of the night is messing with me. You know that I'd rather you not be alone with Sebastian at all anyway, so that's a stupid question. I don't like your attitude when you come back from his place. It's never good."

"For the record, we actually had a really good time tonight. I was in a great mood until you started this shit."

Isabelle snorted in disbelieve. Not a very attractive sound, but she seemed to pull it off well enough.

"It's true," Clary defended. Her voice dropped lower. "For once, Jace wasn't hovering over me the whole time."

Isabelle shot straight up, her hair flying in her face. "What?"

Clary tried to be as casual as possible, shrugging and lying back on the bed. She couldn't watch Isabelle's reaction if she was going to get this out. "I know you're going to think too much of this, but I'm telling you anyway. Ever since that movie night, Sebastian has been freakishly… aggressive towards Jace. Not that I really care," she added for emphasis. "But the thing is he'd get upset if we talked about him. He's the one that always brought him up though! And it happened again tonight. Somehow, Jace always got brought into the conversation and I hated it, but Sebastian actually let it go for once, and we were able to have a good time. We just watched movies, relaxed, and it felt… nice. Hell, we fucking cuddled, and that never happens! I actually didn't want leave, Izzy. For the first time, I wasn't staying because he wanted me to. I only left because I didn't want to get a bunch of shit from you about it."

Isabelle waved her last comment off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, why has he been asking about Jace?"

"He seems to think that Jace has feelings for me or something."

"Do you think he does? Do you have feelings for him?"

"What is this? An interrogation?"

"Answer the damn question."

Clary sat up, glaring at Isabelle from opposite sides of the bed. "No, I don't have feelings for that arrogant, self-centered, conceded, heartbreaking asshole." She spoke with conviction. "Why? Do you?"

"No," Isabelle's expression represented one that would be grossed out. "Are you crazy? Jace isn't my type. We're just friends."

"Isabelle, you're never just friends with a guy." Clary said it with more hurt and anger than normal, and she was sure that Isabelle would catch onto it. No point in denying it, so she just fell back on her bed to stare at the ceiling. The springs bounced with the weight, squeaking across the room.

"He's not a bad guy, Clary." Isabelle's voice was full of conviction, and Clary wanted to slap some sense into her. She just mumbled something incoherently instead, something that would've gotten her a lecture from hell by her best friend. Isabelle must have chosen to ignore her or seriously didn't hear her, and continued. "Jace is actually very genuine and caring if you let him. Even though we still fight like every other minute, he's cool. Yeah, he can be harsh, but that's because he's honest. You'd rather want the honest truth than a lie, right?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point. He's still an asshole, alright? And I've seen the way he pokes shit at Sebastian at practice, during class, at lunch. He really tries to provoke him, and it comes back on me when Sebastian starts asking questions. Questions, I might add, that I don't care to answer."

"Jace just likes to mess with people."

Clary could figure that out on her own, thank you very much. "Well, sorry, but I don't like being messed with. Especially not a douche bag like him."

"He's not a douche bag. He's actually one of the few guys here that give a shit about anything."

The bathroom door swung open, a massive body stepping into the room. "Maybe you're not as judgmental as I thought. You're actually defending me."

Clary shot up in bed, her eyes going towards his voice when she realized how deep in shit she was now. He was standing at the bathroom door entrance, dressed in black jeans and a white t-shirt. Her eyes immediately looked him up in down, taking him in against her will. When she met his gaze, she swallowed against the lump in her throat. She wondered how much of that conversation he heard, but by the look on his face, she could pretty much guess. He heard every bit. All of it.

And when his eyes broke hers, the distance between them felt like miles. He had so much… disappointment, sadness, and what she could only call devastation in that small moment. Not to mention, the anger, probably towards her, and the aggravation in those golden irises. But he covered it up quickly enough, making her think that she might have imagined it. His golden eyes were quickly blanked, his body language not giving a shit as he walked over towards Isabelle's bed.

"Thank you for that, Izzy."

Clary frowned, watching his every step. Izzy? Since when did they have pet names for each other?

Isabelle smiled up at him when he reached for his jacket at the edge of her bed. Clary wanted to mentally slap herself. She hadn't even noticed the jacket or the extra bag on the floor when she walked in. If she would've, she would've known he was still here. Instead, she was blind and ignorant.

"Anytime, Jacey" Isabelle teased. "I'm actually growing out my judgmental phase, unlike some people."

Clary glared at her.

"She's not judgmental," Jace corrected. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at Clary. Heat rose through her body at his gaze. "She's… no, you're right. She's judgmental as hell. And a bit rude if I'm being honest."

"You know, I'm right here." She pointed to herself to make the point.

He nodded, turning back to Isabelle's desk and grabbing his bag. "I know. Not that you care if I notice you or not since Sebastian is so great and all. I'm just an arrogant, self-centered, heartbreaking asshole, right?"

The heat rose right to her cheeks. No doubt in her mind anymore if he heard their earlier conversation. How long did he sit in that bathroom? Was that some kind of plan of theirs? Clary couldn't stand the look on his face and turned away, trying to get that pained expression out of her mind. She might not have cared for him, but she hated the way her body reacted to him. And right now, all she wanted was to touch him and apologize, but she fought against it. She fought against the invisible pull he had on her. The only thing that really stopped her was thinking that he had that effect on every girl.

Jace's arms slid through his dark leather jacket, his bag falling to the floor in the process. Clary couldn't stop herself from looking when he turned his back on her. God, compared to Sebastian, Jace was a God. His back muscles – one of her biggest weaknesses – were just perfection. They moved under the t-shirt and jacket with grace, just like every other part of him. She had to keep reminding herself that she was better off without him in order to keep her head on straight.

"Are you going to be at our game tomorrow?" Isabelle asked when Jace slung his bag over his shoulder.

He shrugged. "Depends when I get out of class. I'm sure I can sweet talk my professors into letting me go early if you really want me there."

"Please?"

Jace laughed, running his hand through his hair, and it echoed through the room. It was actually a joyful sound to Clary, but she couldn't show that! She had to stop thinking like that, but it was hard. Clary suddenly envied Isabelle, badly. Really, really badly.

"Fine. I'll try."

Isabelle smiled and punched the air. "Yes!"

"I'm sure Maia will be just as stoked to have me there," he chuckled. "The little wolf has a fire of hatred against me doesn't she?"

"Yeah, but she's not quite so… accusing. You just have that effect on some people, Jace," Isabelle said. Clary could practically feel both their gazes on her. She knew that was completely and totally directed at her.

Jace sighed. "For reasons I can't explain. I'll see you tomorrow, Izzy."

"Bye, loser. And don't you dare be late to my game."

Jace laughed, turning and heading towards the door. Clary looked down the whole time, refusing to look up and meet his gaze. The door swung open, and Clary's whole body tensed as he was leaving. She really wanted to apologize, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction! He could fool Isabelle, but she couldn't let herself fall for his stupid games.

"Oh, Clary, I almost forgot," he called. Against her will, she looked up, meeting the golden gaze that haunted her day and night. "Give Sebastian a kiss for me when you see him," he smirked, winking at her before shutting the door behind him.

She stared at the door for a good ten seconds, not blinking or moving. Her mind was racing with his last words. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

* * *

"I say it'll be three to one. Isabelle gets a hat trick. That's my call," Simon said, slapping his knee for the extra emphasis as they took their seats in the quickly filling bleachers by the soccer field.

Clary rolled her eyes and took the spot next to him. "Isabelle is good and all, but West Florida number five team in the country for Division II. You really think they'll do that well? That she'll do that well?"

Simon looked offended. "Yes. I do. Plus, I made a twenty dollar bet with Eric, and if I lose, I'm screwed."

"Idiot."

With that done and over with Clary turned back to the field to find her friends as they warmed up. Isabelle, Maia, and everyone else were working hard, looking pumped in their uniforms. The music blasted through the stadium lights at the four corners of the field, and the atmosphere was crazy. This was one of the biggest games of the year, playing one of the biggest teams, and it determined a lot. If they could be this team, they could go far in the Division Tournament.

"Hey! Izzy!"

There it was. That stupid nickname again. Clary tried not to, but her eyes followed the sound of the voice to her left. Through the crowd, she was able to pick him out easily enough as he ran onto the field in what could only be described as the most sexy outfit ever. Black workout shorts, a white muscle shirt, and a snap back that made the curls poke out from underneath. If she was standing, she might have needed someone to catch her. Thank God they already had their seats on the bleachers.

Isabelle noticed him immediately and smiled, running out of the warm up lines to meet him. He stopped just as they reached each other, and Clary tensed when Isabelle flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Jace pretended to be appalled at first before Isabelle slapped him. He then lifted her off her feet, spinning her as they both smiled.

Simon whistled. "Wooooow."

Clary agreed. "I know. That doesn't look like just friends, does it?"

"Huh?" Simon frowned, glancing down at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Jace and Isabelle."

"Oh, yay, there's Jace." Simon's annoyance when he saw the pair made Clary smile. "What's he doing here? I thought he had class?"

"Guess he sweet talked his way out of it," she mumbled. "What else were you looking at earlier if it wasn't them?"

He pointed, and she followed his finger to Maia, stretching on the side. She rolled her eyes when she realized her friend's ass was in the air, facing the bleachers and that's what got Simon so riled up.

"Whatever, stop pointing you freak," she demanded, swatting his hand down. "And stop panting."

He rubbed his now injured hand, glaring at her. "Don't be mean. She's basically teasing us guys over here." He paused, glancing around. "Wait a minute. That means Jordan must be here."

While Simon was busy on finding his friend, Clary's gaze once again traveled to her best friend and her only enemy at the moment. She really wished she could stop herself, but it was hard. Hell, it was impossible. Her eyes were practically glued to him as he talked with his back to her, the muscles in his arms going as he talked with his hands.

Even though she hated him for many reasons, she'd give almost anything to be held by those arms again. That was the safest she'd ever felt. Ever. Something about it was intoxicating, and she thought that the whole package from that night is what caused it. His looks, his muscles, his smile, his charm, his strength, his protectiveness. It caused her to hit hard that night, and she took the advantage of having someone save her for once. It hadn't happened before. She always had to stick up for herself, but if Jace wasn't there, God knows what would've happened. Maybe that's why she had some weird… feeling towards him. He had actually made that night bearable, where it could've been disastrous.

Of course, it could've been the alcohol too. Yeah. That seemed like a better idea.

Her head fell in her hands, finally breaking away from Jace. She took in the blackness with welcome arms, ignoring the music and people around her as she just tried to think.

Maybe it was the not knowing! She had a minor epiphany that sounded great and idiotic at the same time. Maybe if she just kissed him, realized how bad of a kisser he was, she'd finally be over her weird fondness of him. She'd be able to be with Sebastian without any hesitation or conflict with Jace. They could both relax into whatever it was they were, no third golden party would have any more say in it.

But the more she thought about it, the dumber the idea was. Seb would get pissed. She'd get more confused than anything probably. Jace would take it the wrong way. She didn't even want to begin what Isabelle or Simon or her other friends would have to say about it. Nope. That road would not be taken.

"Yo! Wayland! Over here!" Jordan called. Clary suddenly looked up, realizing that Jordan sat on the opposite side of Simon, standing and calling Jace over. When did he get there?

Clary glanced down, only to find Jace walking towards them. She realized at that moment, the only open seat by now was next to her. This could not be happening.

Jace nodded to the boys and took the seat next to Clary without a second thought. She jumped when his leg brushed hers, not sure how to react to it. Does she just sit there or does she pull away? Would pulling away be offensive? Did she really care if he got offended anyway?

"How are you, Clary?" he asked lightly with his eyes forward. He was leaning forward on his elbows, giving her a perfect view of the weakness that was his back muscles.

She swallowed, trying to relax and calm down. "I'm great."

He turned back, his face blank of any emotion so far. "You look a bit nervous."

"She probably is," Simon interjected. Jordan snickered next to him, saying something too low for her to hear as they had their own private conversation.

"Nah, you're not nervous," Jace teased slightly, bumping her leg with his. She did her best not to react to it and just leaned forward as well. Her hands clasped together to stop the shaking and aching to touch him. "Are you, Clary? You have no reason to be. It's not like Sebastian is here or anything."

She stared at him for a moment, trying to get her mouth to catch up to her brain. "Uh, Yeah. Right. Why would I be?" Her voice came out clear and normal, thank Jesus!

"I never said you would be." He leaned forward and pointed to Simon. "Spock said you would be."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Screw you, Jace."

"No thanks."

Clary sighed, running her hand through her curls to calm her nerves. "Well, I'm not," she lied.

"I know you're not."

"Is that because you know me so well?"

He nodded once, dipping his head and pulling it back up as the teams started to walk out in their lines. "I know you better than you think."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she snapped, leaning away from him in order to properly give him the scolding he deserves.

He shrugged one shoulder lightly. "It means that you are readable and predictable, but then again you're not. I can pretty much guess what you're going to do or say, yet sometimes you surprise me. It's actually very confusing, but it makes sense at the same time." Clary literally started at him in bafflement. He was talking gibberish. He dropped his voice to a lower sound, almost a whisper. "Not to mention Isabelle tends to tell me everything that has anything to do with her friends, you especially so..."

"What?" Clary's heart sank. If Isabelle and Jace had gotten so close, Lord knows what information he had on her. Isabelle could've told him anything if she though it would benefit Clary. That feeling of dread and worry settled in her stomach, making her want to run away as fast as possible.

"Don't worry," Jace said calmly and quietly. "It was for my ears only. I'm not a tattle tale."

"I'm not worried about you telling people."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"You knowing it in general. What is it she said?"

Jace didn't answer. He just kept his mouth shut and clapped as the girls were announced, stepping forward and waving towards the crows before getting back in their lines.

"Jace."

He cupped his hands around his mouth as the announcer out Isabelle. "GO IZZY!" She stepped forward, pointing and smiling at all of them as the crowd went nuts for her. She was definitely one of the favorites, groups of guys screaming for her attention.

"Hey man," Simon warned and pointed a not so threatening finger at Jace. "Back off."

Jace laughed, holding his hands up in defense. "Easy. Don't fire the lasers at me, Captain."

"You know, you're not as clever as you think you are, dick."

"Simon, shut up," Clary said with a stern voice. He immediately did what she said, leaning back and ignoring Jace for what would be the remainder of the game.

Clary wasn't done with Jace yet. She scooted closer to him, not to get personal, but to keep the conversation private and talked lower so no one could hear. "You going to tell me?"

He tipped his head back and forth. "Eh, I haven't really decided."

"What is it she told you? Spit it out," she growled none too lady like.

Jace's mouth formed into a small grin. "Wow, someone is getting aggressive."

Her hands tightened into fists. She wasn't sure who she wanted to be angrier with. Jace for not telling or Isabelle for not keeping her mouth shut. "Just… just tell me."

"If you must know, it was quite a bit. Anything I wanted to know really."

"God dammit, Isabelle," she hissed, glaring at her friend on the field.

He nudged her lightly in the shoulder, playfully, with a glint in his eyes. This caught her off guard and she leaned found herself leaning into him out of instinct. "It's nothing you need to worry about. I promise."

"Can't you just tell me? God knows what embarrassing things you could know."

Jace didn't snicker or laugh this time. Instead, he sighed, dropping his head and pulling his hat off. She watched as he ran his hand through his hair before pulling the hat back on. "How about this," he proposed. "You tell me what your problem is with me, and I'll tell you what Isabelle told me."

She opened her mouth to respond, then paused. "I don't want to talk about that."

Jace nodded in response, facing the game again. He stayed silent for many minutes, clapping as the game got started and cheering for Isabelle every time she got the ball. She really was good. Clary would admit that, but her focus wasn't on the game at all.

"Fine," she breathed out, dropping her head to her hands. "God, you're more infuriating than my brother." She sighed, literally pulling at her hair in frustration. Every part of her body kept telling her not to say it, but her mouth talked regardless. "We'll talk later tonight, okay? Off campus so no one sees us together. A restaurant or something."

She could feel Jace's smirk without having to look at him. "We're sneaking around, huh? This should be fun. It's like a James Bond movie."

"Look, do you want to come or not?"

He took a moment to answer like he was actually considering it. "Why, yes, Clary. I'd love to go out with you." He announced a little too loud. Her eyes widened but he just smiled and leaned over before she could protest. "But don't tell Sebastian. We wouldn't want you to get in trouble with the warden."

Clary faced forward, trying not to react at the jabs he was giving her. "Just to get this straight, it's not a date."

Although, every part of her wished it really was.

* * *

Later that night, Clary sat in her room, legs crossed on the bed with her sketchbook in her lap. She refused to do anything to make Jace think that she was remotely trying to impress him at all, so she basically looked like a slob. Her hair wasn't done, just thrown up in a messy bun at the nape of her neck. A few stray curls fell in her face, to which she just blew her breath to brush them aside. Her blue jeans and converse weren't impressive at all, and neither was the black t-shirt sporting Skillet much better. All in all, she tried to show how little she cared about this.

Clary and Isabelle both glanced up when they heard the door open. Jace smiled as he entered, dressed about as decent as Clary. His hair was a sexy mess of blonde curls. His white Vans and t-shirt were about average, along with his black jeans that he seemed to wear every day. Pretty much, it looked like neither of them cared about this.

But Clary knew she had to get it done. She had to know what he knew. With a sigh, she dropped her sketchbook on the bed, hopping off it to the floor. "Alright, let's get this over with."

"Don't kill each other," Isabelle said with her nose in her phone, texting away.

"Can't promise anything," she said, stalking to the door.

"You might want to drop the attitude before this goes exactly how I expect it to." Jace moved aside to hold the door open for clary. A gesture she wasn't expecting, but he seemed unconscious of doing it. "It won't be pretty."

"Does it happen to have a hot make-out scene that I get to hear about after?" Isabelle asked, dropping her phone to the bed.

Jace smirked and winked at her. "As a matter of fact, it does."

"Ha! Like that'll happen," Clary laughed before she made it through the door, turning around to look at Isabelle. "Don't get your hopes up. That's not happening."

"I wouldn't be so sure of yourself."

"Oh yeah?" she turned on Jace. "And what makes you so sure of yourself when I can't be?"

Jace smiled. It was a knowing smile, one that made her uneasy on the inside. "Like I said, I know exactly what's going to happen. There's no point in pretending I don't. Remember, I know you pretty well because of a certain someone." He nodded his head towards Isabelle.

She sat up in bed, her eyes drifting between the two of them. "Screw it. Spill Jace. I wanna hear it."

Clary thought for a moment about protesting, but she was curious as to how much he could really get right. "Yeah," Clary finally agreed, crossing her arms over her chest. She pushed him into the room, grabbing the door and closing it to lean against it. She tried to look as intimidating as possible. "Spill."

He glanced between the girls with confidence. "If you want me to. You might want to take a seat." He gestured to Isabelle's bed, and Clary hopped up on it, glaring at him. She felt Isabelle nudge her through the covers with her foot, but she didn't tear her gaze from Jace's.

He started to slowly pace before the bed, his finger tapping his chin. "Well, for starters, you're already in a bad mood. No guy wants to go with a girl out to dinner and pay if all he is going to get is shit for what an asshole he is. Therefore, we wouldn't go anywhere expensive, because I'm sure as hell not paying for you. So we'd go to cheap fast food, you blasting the music in the car so we wouldn't have to talk to each other on the way there."

Clary couldn't argue with that. That was already part of the plan.

"So we'd get to the restaurant, neither one of us wanting to associate with each other. You more than me. But we'd get our food, sit down, and you would jump right into the questions. Asking me what I know, what Izzy told me. This. That. And it would get really obnoxious, really quick. No one likes to be interrogated with French fries in front of them."

That feeling that people get, the one where their stomach twists and their insides curl in on each other when they realize things are going south… that started to set in on Clary. She got it a lot with Seb, but this time she wasn't feared for her safety. He was scared of what he was about to say. Suddenly, she wished that they would've just gone and got it over with than dealing with him. It was better than this, because so far, he was spot on. She would totally jump right into it, considering that's the only reason she was going to go. This might not have been a good idea.

He kept pacing, talking away with a knowing expression. "And then, naturally, we'd start arguing. I'm getting annoyed with you." He pointed at her. "You're getting annoyed with me." He pointed at himself. "So we start fighting. Now, you being stubborn and determined, you'll keep asking those damn questions to get me to tell you what I know. Thank you, Isabelle." He smiled at her and she tipped her at him in acknowledgement. It made Clary sick. "And then, me being me, I'll say something that would make you call me an asshole. Arrogant. A jerk. A conceded, heartless asshat. You name it. It wouldn't take much, but I'm pretty sure I would push you over the edge, right?"

He actually looked at her for confirmation. "Yeah," she agreed. "You'd more than likely piss me off. No doubt about it."

"Thank you," he said sincerely before continuing. "You'd storm off after that, ditching your food and me. And as I watch you walk out the door, I would actually contemplate letting you walk your ass home. But since the closest restaurant is miles from here, probably five or six, I wouldn't be able to let that happen. I'd want to, but my conscience would get to me."

Clary faked a shocked expression. "You have a conscience? Who knew?"

"I did." Isabelle raised her hand.

She turned on her dark haired friend. "It was a rhetorical question."

"Anyway," Jace called, getting their attention again. "I would race after you before you got too far and my laziness kicked in, and stop you. You'd fight, argue, call me every name under the sun. More than likely, you'd just rant and yell at me, so then, I'd kiss you to shut your trap." He glanced at Isabelle. "That's how your favorite part would happen."

"Keep going," she encouraged and clapped like a child. Clary gaped at her. "What? It's getting interesting."

Jace nodded, tapping his chin and pacing again. "Right, so at first, you'd be shocked."

"Damn straight," Clary murmured.

"Then you'd kiss me back, tongue and all. You'd get really into it actually, hair pulling and shit. Isabelle told me that's how you get into it." He smiled and looked up towards the ceiling like he was actually picturing it happening.

Her eyes widened. Her arms fell to her side and she dropped her jaw. "Uh, come again? I would what?"

He smiled, winking at her. "You heard me."

"What makes you so sure about that?"

He paused in his pacing, looking down at himself. "Well…" She couldn't really stop herself from arguing with him. And if she did, Isabelle would call her out. At this point, they all knew that she was seriously attracted to Jace, physically, but nothing about his personality appealed to her. So she just shut her mouth and slouched against the wall, staring at the floor.

"And my point is proven," he continued. "So we'd kiss for a bit, mainly because I want to and you want to. In other words: we both want to. It's better than talking, but I don't really know your preferences to making out yet, so I'll leave it to your imagination." She shook her head in disbelief at him, wishing he would just stop talking. It only caused him to chuckle. "Then, you'd have some insignificant epiphany about Sebastian. Something about him would be like a light bulb going off in that artistic head of yours, and you'd realize that you're kissing a God instead of your shitty little… whatever he is to you. Your hands would then push me off of you in shock, while I'm just smirking and satisfied that I finally got a rise out of you."

Clary rolled her eyes, jumping to her feet. "You do realize that last bit was total bullshit, right?"

He cocked it head to the side. "Was it?" Clary then froze when he started to walk towards her. "Because we can test that theory if you want. I can just kiss you now and see what happens, but I'm not responsible for any feelings that come up afterwards."

She shook her head as he advanced upon her. Suddenly, everything faded away. Isabelle was no longer on the bed. They were no longer in her room. It was just Jace's golden eyes as they approached her, his lean body, his sunlight aura and smell, and she found herself lost it in. She wanted this to happen. She didn't want to want it to happen, but she wanted it to happen. It was confusing.

He was then in front of her, his body only inches from her, but he was somehow able to stop them from touching. His hand reached up, his fingers gripping her chin and holding her there. Clary didn't realize that she was gripping the bed behind her in such a tight grasp as he leaned down, his lips going to hers.

But she turned against his grip. Thank God! She at least had some bit of dignity. Jace's lips didn't touch hers but her cheek instead. He played it off, kissing her cheek softly and causing a burning situation where it touched. Something about it caused a gut feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had to tighten her grip on Isabelle's bed even more to stop herself from grabbing him. What was it about this asshole that was so intoxicating and liberating? She should hate him! She does! Right?

He didn't say a word, dropping his hands and stepping back slowly. Clary stayed still, not breathing, not moving, not looking anywhere but the floor. She couldn't bring herself to.

Isabelle groaned in frustration, getting Clary's attention. "Dammit, I thought I was about to witness the first kiss," she whined. She sounded upset, and even looked the part. "This is such bullshit."

"Clary?" The reaction her body had with her name coming off of Jace's lips seriously needed to stop. But it wasn't arrogant or cocky like every other word out of his mouth tonight. It sounded concerned. "You might want to let go of the sheets before they rip."

She didn't even bother to meet his expression as she did what he suggested, opening her hands and releasing the bed. Then, she did what he didn't expect – at least hopefully – and turned towards the door. She swung it open with all the anger and hatred inside of her, smacking it against the wall. Feeling Jace's and Isabelle's eyes on her, she numbly stepped out and slammed it behind her.

* * *

**Thank you to those that are reviewing. And I'm sorry if some of you want me to update quicker, but if you want decent chapters, it takes me a while to think of them and put them together on my own. If you have any ideas, you're more than welcome to share, but being a loner on this project doesn't really make it easy, especially when I'm also writing another fanfic as well. It gets tough, and I apologize if I'm not quick enough for you all!**

**But if you don't mind it, stay tuned for a bit and another will come out soon :)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Aftermath

"You know, that was kind of harsh, Jace."

His gaze stayed on the closed door for a moment. He eventually turned on Isabelle, still standing in the middle of the room. "You didn't seem to think so when you were enjoying it so much."

"I didn't say it wasn't hilarious. It was just harsh."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes and thrusting his hand in his hair. "Some friend you are."

Jace sighed, turning and walking towards Clary's bed. There were plenty of other places for him to sit as he really took in what just happened, but for some reason he wanted to be there. He lied down on the sheets, blankets, and pillows, pushing some stuffed puppy aside and stared up at the ceiling in silence.

He was an idiot. He was such a fucking idiot. Any other time in his life, that whole get up would've been amusing to him. The California boy he used to be would've just laughed it off when she left, smiling and high fiving his friends that would've been around. He wished he could be that none caring, egotistical, ignorant to love kid that he once was. It was so much easier when he never cared. It didn't mean he was a huge asshole. He just didn't care enough to get hurt. He didn't care.

That's how he felt at first tonight too. When he started on his idea about the night to her, it was like he was finally back to his old self. The - playful, sarcastic, let's have some banter - Jace that never cared enough to get hurt. He wasn't being disrespectful, just honest. And when she dished it back at him now and then, he found it playful. It just made him want to aggravate her more, because for some reason he found it hot as hell. An angry Clary is a sexy Clary, no matter how much he hated the idea. He was already in too deep with just fighting with her, and he didn't need it to get any worse than it already was. There would never, ever be anything between them.

Jace sighed again, closing his eyes and picturing her face. The curls, the green eyes, the freckles, the anger, the hatred, the frustration. No, there could never be anything between them. It wouldn't end well for either of them.

It wasn't easy to think like that. It was necessary, but it was far from easy. Whenever Jace saw her, his body just felt like it gravitated toward her. He thanked God above for his self-control, but he'd never had to test his control until this stupid redhead waltz into his life without a care in the world. Everything she did seem to catch his eye. The simplest movements would be the things he remembered. The way her lip stuck out when she pouted if she felt inferior. The way she'd tilt her head to flip her hair at him, like it proved her to be a better person or something. The way she walked. The way her lips moved when she talked. The way she looked up to her friends, to Isabelle, like they were the answer to everything. She really leaned on them, but then again, she was the most independent person he'd ever met. He'd never had to deal with someone so contradictory before. It was driving him mad.

Out of the corner of his mind, he just really hoped she didn't go running to Sebastian's room when she left the suite. The last thing he wanted to think about was Seb getting the girl that Jace wanted. That he shouldn't want, but wanted nonetheless.

"Where do you think she went?" he inquired, tilting his head to look at Isabelle.

She was back on her phone again, reading a new message before nodding slowly. "Simon said she just showed up at his room." She immediately started texting at the speed of light back to him.

"Is she mad at me?"

"I would be."

He took that as a yes and glanced back at the ceiling. That was his plan, right? He wanted her to be mad so that nothing would start between them. Keep the distance and make it longer.

It had worked too. She didn't kiss him earlier, even though every fiber in his being told him to grab her and force her to. It was a test, one that he hated but had to do. The plan to keep them separated was escalating quickly and swiftly. What he wouldn't give to actually kiss those lips for once, though. Just to taste her how he wanted to. But if he got a taste, he'd want the whole fucking thing. He couldn't do that. He shouldn't.

"Yup," Isabelle chuckled. "She's so pissed."

Jace's jaw tightened. "How bad?"

"I'd say on a scale of one to ten, she's a fifty. Her exact words were: 'Tell that fucking prick to never speak to me again or God so help me, I will rip his balls off and feed them to the dogs.'"

Jace sat straight up. "She said that?"

Isabelle nodded.

"Fuck." He collapsed back on the bed, grabbing pillow and placing it over his face.

"Don't be so upset, Jace. I thought that this was what you wanted. That's why I egged it on."

"It is what I wanted," he mumbled into the sweet scent of Clary's pillow. It smelled like tropics mixed with strawberries, probably from her hair.

He heard Isabelle put her phone on the desk beside her, the bed squeaking underneath her as she moved. "But?..."

"That's all I got."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Jace groaned in frustration. "I don't know." He pulled the pillow away, placing it back on the bed and rolling over to face his only real friend at school. "That's the issue. I don't want her to like me, to care about me. It makes this easier if she doesn't. It's better if she never wanted to see or speak to me again."

Isabelle sighed, leaning forward on her elbows. "Jace, I know that what ever happened to your dad was rough to you, but Clary isn't like that. She's not all about hurting people. She's way too compassionate for that. You can't think she's like every other girl. She's not your mother."

"Obviously. I wouldn't be attracted to my mother."

Isabelle's eyes turned cold. "You know what I mean."

"I do, but it doesn't make it anymore possible." He pointed to himself, actually disgusted inside. "I'm not the guy that can handle a real relationship, and she's the girl that deserves that."

"And you think she'll get that from whom exactly?" Isabelle pointed out. "Sebastian? He's nothing but trash. At least you have some good points to you. She's just going to be heartbroken when that jackass feels like he's tired of her."

Jace shrugged, hugging a stray pillow to his chest. He took a deep breath, praying that day never came for her sake. He wasn't sure he could see her go through pain like that. "Maybe that won't happen. Maybe he won't fuck it up."

Isabelle groaned, pulling at her hair. "Jace, you're being stupid. Of course he's going to fuck it up. He's Sebastian Verlac!"

"She seemed happy with him when she came back last night," he shot back with animosity. He didn't want to think about what she said after about him, but he had to get that point across. "She really was. So, I don't know, maybe–"

He was suddenly struck in the head with a small, stuffed pony.

"You don't believe that."

Jace slowly pulled the pony away from his face, glad he had the decency to close his eyes before the assault had hit him and dropped the animal to the floor. "Yes. I do."

"She put on a face for us to try to convince us that he's a decent guy," Isabelle said. She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the wall. "She knows that I hate Sebastian more than anything, so she'll say anything for me to give him a chance. Hell, she probably rehearsed all that on the way over after he fought with her again."

Jace's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

Isabelle nodded, then bit her lip and paused. "I mean, it's a theory. She can't be seriously happy with him. Otherwise she would've gone to his place tonight instead of Simon's." She paused, looking down at her nails. "It only makes sense."

Regret pulsed through Jace like a bass drum, thumping through his whole being down to his toes. Isabelle, sadly, was right. He had so many emotions at that point inside of him, running like rivers in different directions, trying to find their way to the shore where they can be shone. He refused to let them, ever, but it was getting harder and harder to hold his emotions in as they started to overflow. It was like the glass was filling too high, and one day he'd fall apart as they spilled over.

He let out an exasperated breath, burying his head in the pillow at his chest in order to hide the feelings on his face. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he ever wanted. He knew he wanted her, but he wasn't sure he wanted the whole, dramatic, sarcastic package that came with her.

He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "She's just so aggravating," he continued. "I can't be with someone like that. Not permanently."

"Yes you can."

"No. I. Can't."

"Have you ever tried?" Isabelle asked. "Have you ever tried to be with someone who didn't give you everything you wanted every second of the day? Have you ever been with someone who didn't worship the ground you walk on?"

He dropped his hands to the bed, thinking back to his time in California. Jessica. Ramona. Marina. Taylor. Becky. They were all easy. Hell, he practically made them his bitch with just one kiss. If he ever needed anything, they were up for it, no matter how ridiculous the request. It was like he was a King to them. That loathsome redhead he was so infatuated by didn't think quite as much of him as his past experiences had. Hell, he was probably a peasant in her eyes. A useless piece of man that didn't even deserve a look from her, especially after his last little fiasco.

And he couldn't help but agree with her. He was a little shit.

* * *

"NO! Fucking – no man, don't run in there! Sto – God dammit. Who threw that damn grenade? Someone cover my ass. Hey, jackass with the machine gun, stop throwing those fucking grenades and killing our team. Someone boot this prick from the game. Fucking pussy is making us lose."

Clary whistled in shock from the head of Simon's bed, her body leaning against the pillows between her and the wall, shaking her head before looking back down to her phone. "This game really brings out the worst in people, doesn't it?"

Simon ducked – like the throwing knife was actually coming for his face – and moved along with his controller at the edge of his bed. He stripped the headset off, tossing it aside. "You just don't get it. It's not just a game."

"Let me guess. It's a lifestyle?" she teased in her best Simon voice.

He shook his head, his wet hair from his earlier shower spraying water across the sheets. It dripped down the back of his bare torso, turning the light grey to almost black. "Shut up."

She didn't. "I just don't get it. Why are you so intrigued by something that pisses you off so much? I feel like it just causes you to get angry for no reason. It's like your torturing yourself on purpose."

"Unbelievable," Simon muttered under his breath. She didn't think he expected her to hear him, but she did.

"What's so unbelievable?"

"You."

"What did I do?"

Simon sighed as the game finally ended, the final scores popping up on the screen. Simon dropped his controller to the bed, twisting and placing one knee on the mattress as he turned back to Clary. She was suddenly really worried about his answer, not really sure what she should expect. "You need to start listening to your own advice."

She furrowed her brows in a frown. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Sebastian." He said it like it was obvious.

There was a knock at Simon's door, and he stood to grab it, leaving Clary with her thoughts. What did Sebastian have to do with video games? Sebastian hated video games more than anything. Well, not more than anything, because she was sure that bastard Jace had gotten the number one seat in that list. Not to mention he was pretty high up on hers too.

"We still on for tomorrow?"

Maia. Clary pulled her knees to her chest in confusion as Simon blocked her view from her friend. He nodded with his back to Clary. "Yeah, I'll just be in here whenever you want to come over."

"Okay." There was a pause. "Is she okay?" Clary barely heard Maia whisper it.

Simon sighed, shrugging one shoulder. He lowered his voice, probably trying to keep Clary out of the conversation but it wasn't working too well. She leaned closer, trying to hear what they were saying. "Not at first. She's getting better now. He really did a number on her." Clary looked to the ground when Simon turned, acting like she wasn't paying attention, but then he turned back to Maia. "Now she's at least back to her usual banter, but we'll see how long it lasts."

"You know he's still in her room?"

Simon suddenly stiffened. Clary's eyes widened as well. "Is he really?" he asked. "What's the point in that?"

"I don't know. Isabelle said they've talked about what happened for like thirty minutes, and then he just kind of fell asleep in Clary's bed. Apparently he's really upset about it."

Simon shook his head, looking at the floor. His hand went up, pulling at his wet, brown hair. "Do you actually believe that?"

Maia laughed once. "No way in hell."

"Me either. It's probably just some game he's trying to play. I can't believe that Isabelle is actually falling for it. I hate the fact that she's friends with someone like him."

"I tried to warn her, but she seems to think he's a good guy."

"Yeah, well, she isn't the best judge of character," Simon muttered.

She blanked out after that, agreeing with Simon completely but focusing on something else entirely. Clary's heart started racing at the prospect of Jace in her bed, and she fell back against the pillows, staring at the sheets with a blank expression.

He was still there? Currently, at – she glanced at Simon's bedside clock – one in the morning? Why didn't he just go back to his room? What did he and Isabelle have to talk about? Why didn't Isabelle kick his ass out? Sure, she wasn't going back tonight, but the idea of him sleeping with her stuff, with her sheets, on her bed sent a mix of feelings through her body.

She shut off the ones that she knew were useless. The butterflies, the longing, the wanting, the nervousness. She suppressed them as much as possible as she tried to get the picture out of her head. The last thing she wanted to think about was what she could be doing with him in that bed, which wasn't a good prospect either. Instead, she tried to think about how much she actually hated him. How seeing him was like walking into hell every time. It made it a bit easier to deal with, bringing the worse feelings to the surface instead, but she still couldn't stop herself from thinking about him.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," Simon announced as he shut his door, locking it and turning back to Clary. "So, I guess you're staying here for the night?"

She pulled her legs to her chest, the sheets and blankets coming with her and wrapped her arms around it all. "If you don't mind."

"You know I don't," he smiled, coming to sit beside her now. He grabbed the remote, turning the TV and Xbox off before sliding in next to her in his pajama bottoms, keeping plenty of distance between them.

She didn't loosen up. "Simon, what did you mean earlier?"

"About what?"

"About Sebastian."

Simon sighed, reaching over and grabbing his phone to set the alarm for the morning. "Isn't it obvious?"

She shook her head.

He sighed, placing his phone back and sitting against eth headboard as well. "You said earlier that I'm basically glutting for punishment by playing with something that just puts me in a bad mood right?"

She nodded, not getting where the conversation was going.

"You've been doing that with Sebastian the whole time you've been… doing what you do. You've changed since you've started seeing him."

She looked away, glancing towards the sheets and picking at it with her fingers. "That's different."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "How so?"

"Because Sebastian actually makes me happy sometimes. He can be really sweet when things are going well, and we have fun."

Simon shook his head, laughing and pulling his glasses off. He placed them down on the table, rubbing his eyes with both hands. "Yeah, well, when things go well with Call of Duty, I'm just as happy. It still pisses me off more than anything though. But when things go south, I know when to quit." She felt his gaze burn into her. "Do you?"

He didn't wait for her to answer. The lights were suddenly turned off, and she felt him sink down into the bed, pulling the covers with him.

Reluctantly, she slid herself down and grabbed a pillow, hugging it as she rested her head on it. The darkness caused her mind to racing, running all the way back to her room, to her bed, to Jace. She knows she shouldn't be thinking about him, not now and not ever, but he was the last thing that caught her mind as she fell asleep.

That, and Simon's stupid question: _I know when to quit. Do you?_

Did she?

* * *

**Well, I know it isn't very long, but I feel like the last chapter needed a short one for a bit of an explanation. Sorry if you want more, but I've already got another chapter in progress so you'll get it soon! :) stay tuned.**


	6. Chapter 6 - Taking And Giving

Clary gazed down at the fifth sketch in the past hour, glaring at it before ripping it out of the binder. She balled it up in her hands, getting the attention of a few of her classmates before tossing it in the nearby trashcan and starting again.

This process seemed to be happening more and more. Normally, even with a bad sketch, she could work with it. But lately she couldn't. Mainly because they weren't just misplaced lines, bad shading in the wrong spot, or too dark of marks. No. These were to the point that the whole picture haunted her.

And for the past few days, she'd been able to draw nothing but him. Jace.

It was getting on her nerves more than anything. Even in the most inopportune moments, she'd find herself drawings something about him: his golden eyes, those messy curls, his smirk where he showed a chip in his left incisor. It was always something, and she really wished it would just stop. Even if she was just sitting outside, doodling like she always did, he always seemed to be there, walking by, and then she wouldn't be able to draw anything else. She'd pretty much gone through a whole sketchbook in the matter of days trying to get herself to stop.

And she wanted to stop so badly. She was so over it! How he even got in her head like this was a mystery. Hell, she hates the guy! After their last conversation, she vowed that she wouldn't let him manipulate her or mess with her again. Never again would she let him bait her into anything. Because that was hell to go through because he was so fucking right.

That's what made the situation ten times worse. Despite the fact he's a cocky prick, some part of her inside regretted not letting him kiss her. Just once. Maybe it wouldn't be as glamorous as she thought, and she'd be able to get over it and move on with her life. Instead, when his lips touched her cheek, her whole body seemed to feel something. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was there and begging her to respond to him. But she couldn't. She wouldn't. She shouldn't.

"Clary? Is everything okay?"

Clary had realized in her minor train of thought that she'd dropped her head to her desk in the process, burring her face in her arms. Slowly, she rose from her spot, glancing down at the newly blank sketch page.

Her teacher, an older woman of about sixty with white blonde hair and glasses, looked at her wearily, glancing down at the paper with a frown. "Clary, you've been here for half the class, and you still haven't settled on something. You were supposed to get this started on this already. It's going to be due soon."

"I know. I'm trying."

"Well, try harder. I don't want to have to fail you because you're indecisive." The woman paused. "You're a great artist, but you have to stop letting things distract you. Instead, use them to your advantage."

With that, she left, walking around to chat with other students about their works that were already halfway finished.

Clary still sat there for five more minutes, wanting to draw but not knowing what. She wasn't sure what would be good for transferring over to a canvas, and she was internally fighting a battle that she was sure she'd lose.

Her phone buzzed as she dropped her face to her hands again, and she pulled it out.

_ WE HAVE A CODE RED! - I_

Clary's eyes widened at Isabelle's text, worry settling in her gut. She glanced up to make sure her teacher was otherwise occupied with someone else before answering back.

_How bad? – C _

_ Pretty DAMN bad. – I _

Clary sighed. With Isabelle, that could mean a number of things.

_Isabelle, if your heel to those black boots broke again, it isn't that big of a deal. I can glue them back together easily enough. No need to stress. – C_

_ That's not it, bitch. There was a fight. Some shit was said at practice, and then next thing anyone on the girl's team saw… well… Let's just say that Jace won. You can probably guess against who. Get down here as soon as you can. – I_

_ I'm in class right now! – C _

_ That's why I said as soon as you can. – I _

Clary sighed, her body starting to come alive with worry and adrenaline. A fight. Great. That's just what she needed to deal with. The party fiasco started up again and Sebastian bit off more than he could chew for the second time in a row. Drama. Drama. Drama.

* * *

By the time she had finally gotten down to field, attempting to run in a pair of converse with jeans and a t-shirt, everything was pretty much calmed down. Almost everyone was gone, the field practically empty except for the few stragglers sitting at the bench. Clary could make out Jace easily enough, his head bowed with his hands clasped between his knees. Sebastian was a few yards away from him, holding what looked like ice to his shoulder as the trainer talked to him. Isabelle was standing in front of the bleachers, not too close to the boys. She looked to be concentrating, staring down at the floor. The coaches were behind the bleachers, probably discussing some kind of punishment for the boys.

Isabelle was the first to notice Clary, looking up as the redhead stepped up beside her. "Bout time you showed up."

"Sorry, I came when I could." Clary stopped by Isabelle, assessing the situation. Jace didn't look too badly harmed. His shirt was beside him on the bench, so she could see a few bruises starting to form on his shoulders. She really looked at him, noticing how distraught and frustrated he appeared. The way he was sitting was like he had something eating at the back of his mind, like it was driving him crazy. She wanted to ask what it was, but figured that wouldn't be a good idea with Sebastian a few yards away.

"So what happened?" Clary figured that was the best neutral statement she could come up with.

Isabelle sighed, flipping her long black ponytail over her shoulder. "They got into a fight."

"No shit. I meant why."

"Hell if I know. Jordan wouldn't tell me before he left and Jace won't say anything."

That didn't make much sense. "Jace always has something to say," Clary whispered with an incredulous tone.

Isabelle shook her head, looking at Jace through thoughtful eyes. "Not this time. Whatever happened really got to him. He hasn't said a word since they pulled him off of Sebastian. He hasn't even moved a muscle."

Clary's gaze reluctantly moved from Jace's still form to Sebastian. "Did you ask Seb?"

Isabelle gave her a look that said 'you can't be serious'.

"Fine." Clary left Isabelle there, walking over towards her… whatever Sebastian was to her. When the trainer saw her approach, he nodded and left, leaving Sebastian on the bleachers with a pained expression.

He looked up at Clary, only to immediately look to the ground. "What are you doing here?"

"Isabelle texted me." She squatted down in front of him, leaning back on her heels. "Seb, what happened?"

He shrugged, wincing in the process and shutting his eyes tightly. She didn't like seeing him in pain like this, tensing when he did. "I got into a fight," he finally breathed out.

Clary dropped her head, her curls falling around her face before raising it again. It's like people thought she couldn't already see that. Did they think she was stupid or something? "I get that. My question is why?"

He took a deep breath. "Why does it matter?"

"Because I don't want you to keep picking fights you can't win."

He glared at her instantly, the darkness in his eyes giving off a bad vibe. She instinctively leaned back. "I didn't lose."

She raised one eyebrow in protest and pointed to his shoulder. "Then what's the bag for, champ?"

"A minor injury."

"Doesn't look like one."

"Well, it is," he snapped. "Jesus, stop pestering me."

Clary's eyes widened. "I'm – I'm pestering you? Is that what you call me caring about you?"

His eyes, dark and forceful, only showed the hostility behind them. "Obviously. It's annoying."

"Boys, listen up." Clary turned and stood, stepping aside as Coach Starkweather stepped in front of them. He had his hands on his hips, looking back and forth between Sebastian and Jace. Isabelle made her way to Clary's side before Coach continued. "You two have to stop this grudge match between the two of you. It's getting in the way of practices. It's messing with the other boys on the team. It's screwing the two of you over. I don't know what it's about, but it needs to stop."

Clary glanced back at the two of them. Both were looking at the ground, Sebastian looking tense and annoyed. Jace just looked… blank. There was no emotion his shoulders, and his face was hidden with his curls falling on his forehead, staring at the ground.

"So are you going to suspend us or what?" Sebastian asked, raising his head to look at Coach.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I want to." She saw Sebastian tense up, looking worried. "I need to."

Jace lifted his head for the first time. Clary finally could see his face, but there was nothing there to actually look at. It was just… empty. "But you aren't."

"I didn't say that," Coach Starkweather pointed.

"Why?"

"Jace, it's not that easy to suspend my two best players." Coach started to slowly pace back and forth. Clary didn't realize she was bouncing on her heels in suspense until Isabelle nudged her and told her to stop. "But I don't really have a choice. I have to show the guys on the team that this is unacceptable."

"So are you suspending us or not?" Sebastian asked impatiently. "Cause I have things to do other than to listen to a lecture."

Clary closed her eyes, wishing that Sebastian would just drop the attitude. He was only going to make this worse if he kept it up.

Starkweather turned on him quickly. "Sebastian Verlac, you keep up that fucking attitude and you're out of here permanently. I've put up with your shit for too long because you're a great player, but I'm coming to my breaking point. If you want to keep it up, you might as well quit right now. Because I'm done with it."

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but luckily he didn't speak again.

"Now, both of you have clashed since school pretty much started. You were fine at first, but something has happened the past few weeks. I see it. Coach Sullivan sees it. A lot of the fans see it. You two have something going on and I want it out on the table right now." Coach pointed to the floor. "Right. Now."

Jace frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You want us to talk about our feelings?" Sebastian asked with amusement in his voice. "Like women?"

Jace looked at Sebastian before his gaze fluttered behind him to Clary. She felt her face heat at the intensity of it, her body wanting to fidget under those golden eyes. Jace shook his head, glancing back at Starkweather. "No."

Sebastian nodded in agreement. "Fuck no."

Coach nodded. "Yes."

"Not with them here," Sebastian retorted, pointing at the girls. "And not around this jackass," he shot at Jace.

"I'm not talking, regardless of who's around," Jace added, leaning back against the bleachers. The new position showed off his abs, his V line, his pecks, and everything about his torso. Clary couldn't help but stare, taking it in.

Sebastian glared at him. "His problem is simple enough anyway." Jace's glanced over at Seb. If looks could kill… Seb just looked at coach, ignoring it. "But no matter what you do, we're going to hate each other. It's that simple. Talking it out in therapy won't help how much I want to bash his face against a brick wall."

"You'd fail if you tried anyway," Jace smirked. "Just look at your shoulder."

That must have snapped something, because Sebastian jumped to his feet, tossing the ice to the turf. Jace stood as well, both looking ready to kill each other if they got a chance. Their fists were clenched, but Jace's golden eyes were the most intimidating thing about him.

"That's enough," Starkweather stated, stepping between them. "You're not doing this again."

"Why not? If he wants to fight, I'm more than willing to kick his ass for the third time," Jace growled.

Starkweather turned towards him. "No. If you try it, you can say goodbye to your scholarship, Jace Wayland. Understand?"

His eyes were cold and hard, and he looked like he didn't really want to do what was suggested. He really looked like violence was something he needed, but his gaze drifted from Coach, to Sebastian, to over Sebastian's shoulder at Clary.

Their gazes locked momentarily. "Alright." Jace said as he backed off, stepping a few feet back.

Starkweather seemed to visibly relax. "Thank you. Now, both of you get out of here so I can figure out what the hell to do with you." Starkweather didn't wait after that, heading towards his car without another glance at the boys.

Jace didn't need to be told twice. He turned on his heels, grabbed his t-shirt from the bench, and headed towards the locker rooms.

"He's pissed," Isabelle observed. "I'm going to talk to him. You going to be okay?"

Clary nodded, glancing down at Sebastian. He had bent down and grabbed his ice again, placing it on his shoulder before taking another seat on the bench. She really hoped he'd drop the attitude in order for them to have a civilized conversation. "Yeah. Go after Jace."

"Clary?" She glanced at her friend's worried eyes. "Are you really going to be okay?"

There was more to the question than Clary wanted to answer. "Yes. Go on."

Although it was obvious Isabelle didn't believe her, she took off after Jace, jogging in order to catch up to him. Clary watched, wondering what it was Isabelle saw in him. Why did she care so much for someone like him to begin with? He was so… moody.

"If you're going to scold me, don't bother," Sebastian mumbled.

Clary sighed, putting her hands on top of her head and trying to relax. "I'm not going to."

"Good, then let's get out of here."

He reached up and grabbed her hand, pulling her in the opposite direction towards the Village, the place where Sebastian stayed. Although she really didn't want to go, she let him pull her along, glancing back at Jace and Isabelle once and only once.

* * *

He was furious. So fucking furious. He was so mad he felt the need to blow up a small country, and where that came from he had no idea. He didn't have temper issues. He didn't have so much anger inside of him before moving. He was always calm, composed, and he had to try to keep that. But back there, with Sebastian at practice, he couldn't hold it in. He just… snapped.

Back at the water break, everything was calmer and more relaxed. He and Jordan were just talking, chatting away about the little things when Sebastian and his gang of punks walked up.

"So how was it?" Raphael had asked. "Was she as good as you expected?"

Sebastian smiled, popping the top off of a water bottle and chugging it. "Fuck yeah. She's a bit bossy and wanted to do it her way which pissed me off, but I can definitely tell you that she felt fucking amazing."

Raphael frowned. "That's not even fair. I want a piece of that ass."

"Back up," Sebastian answered with amusement. "She's mine. Besides, she's got these weird quirks though that were pissing me off. It was kind of getting on my nerves. But hell, I got it in so it doesn't really matter. I got what I wanted."

That's when Jace had snapped. He didn't give two shits if Sebastian would've been talking about anyone else, but he knew that conversation was of Clary. He knew that Sebastian had been after her for sex for a while, little hints here and there, but he never thought that guy had the audacity to say it in front of Jace. He had balls, but couldn't live up to his talk.

Jordan had done all he could to hold Jace back, especially before anything even started. It was like he could tell that Jace was a live wire, a tightened rubber band that was about to break, a nuke ready to explode. Anything would've set him off, and Sebastian seemed to notice. That dark haired asshole turned towards Jace, smiled, and winked. Jace just lost it.

He wasn't even really sure what happened if he was being totally honest. One second he was shoving Jordan out of the way, and the next he was on top of Sebastian. He had his mortal enemy on his stomach, his face in the turf and before anyone could stop him, the satisfying crack of a dislocated shoulder erupted throughout the field. Jace probably had a sadistic smile on his face, enjoying the moans of pain Sebastian evoked and was pulled off before he could do anymore damage.

"JACE!"

He turned, stopping at the sound of Isabelle's voice. He noticed Clary and Sebastian walking in the background, a bad feeling starting in stomach when Clary actually looked back at him. But he ignored it. He had to ignore it.

Isabelle had ran up to him, her bag in hand and swung over her shoulder. "Hey, damn you walk fast."

"Sorry." He turned and headed back towards the locker rooms, Isabelle right by his side. "I guess I just couldn't take it anymore."

"I don't blame you."

"You shouldn't. He tried to egg me on, so I'm not sorry for almost breaking his arm."

Isabelle whistled, the smile growing on her face in what looked like pride. "I'm just glad someone finally taught him a decent lesson. That broken nose the first time wasn't enough."

Jace shrugged, internally wishing he'd done more than just a week's worth of damage. Sebastian deserved to be in a fucking coma after the way he talked.

"Anyway," Isabelle continued on in his silence. "Do I get to know what Sebastian said?"

Jace lifted his head to the sky. "I'm sure it'll take you only one guess to figure it out."

"Clary," she said more than asked. Jace nodded his answer. "God, I wish she could see how bad he was for her. She's so oblivious to how bad he really is. I just want to smack some sense into her. It's like she doesn't believe there's any good guys out there."

Jace laughed despite the pressure against his chest was still there. "There aren't any."

"Sure there are."

"Oh, yeah?" Jace turned towards her as they walked, eyebrows raised in question. "Who?"

Isabelle bit her lip in concentration. "Jordan."

"He's good in a way. He has just as many revolting thoughts as the rest of us. That makes him okay, not good."

"Simon."

"He's not a guy. He's… something entirely different."

Isabelle chuckled, not bothering to say anything to that. "Clary's brother, Jonathan. He's a pretty decent guy when he wants to be."

Jace snapped his fingers in victory. "When he wants to be. That doesn't mean he's a good guy. Because when he doesn't want to be, he's probably an asshole like the rest of us."

"Jesus, you're being harsh today." Isabelle shifted her bag up over her shoulder. "My brother Alec is pretty good. And before you say anything about anything, he's gay, so he's practically a girl's best friend."

Jace nodded, biting back a small smile. "Touché. Gay guys aren't classified as men though. I'd throw Simon in that category."

"Simon's not gay!"

Jace shrugged. "I fail to see your reasoning behind that."

"Well, I know you don't want to hear it but you're one of the good ones." Jace shook his head, looking back at the floor when her blue eyes, full of sincerity, tried to meet his. "Whether you believe it or not."

"I don't believe it."

Isabelle let out an exasperated breath, her hands reaching up to top of her head. Her arms brushed his in the process, but he had gotten so comfortable around Izzy that it wasn't a big deal. It kind of shocked him that he could be friends with her and not feel anything sexual. That wasn't normal for him, for any guy.

She dropped her hands just as quickly as she raised them. "You're really a pain in my ass when you hate on yourself."

"I only do it around you."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Because you try to see the good side in me that is nonexistent." He glanced at her like a friend does when they tell someone something is a bad idea. "And it's only going to give you false interpretations of me."

She crossed her arms over her chest just as they reached the locker room. Jace was about to walk in when Izzy's hand shot out, cutting him off. "Jace, can I tell you something?"

He sighed impatiently and nodded, leaning against the wall. "If you hurry."

Izzy bit her lip, taking a moment to think. "I know Clary better than anyone. I think that much is obvious, but I also know that she doesn't really know herself. She doesn't know what she wants, never has. But you… you know what you want. Where she fights to keep things she doesn't need, you're pretty much refusing to even try to go after something that you've craved since you got here."

Despite the fact that Izzy was right, Jace didn't appreciate it. "Look, I'm keeping myself out of harm's way for a reason."

"I know. But she isn't who you think she is. Just because she's with Sebastian doesn't make her the stereotypical white bitch. She's… different. I know you can tell because you fight for her when no one else does. And I don't care if you like it or not, she needs someone like you just as much as you need someone like her."

Her words left Jace as at loss as she dropped her arm and walked off, heading towards the other school buildings. Jace was frozen in place, taking in Isabelle's words of wisdom. He didn't know what to say, what to do, how to do it, when to do it. This internal battle he was fighting because of this girl was going to be the death of him.

* * *

When they got to Sebastian's lone room, Clary put him on the bed without letting him even decide. It was obvious her bossiness was bothering him, but she told him to stay put as she left to get some ice out of his freezer. The other bag had long warmed up, and with so with a new on in hand, she returned to his room to find him in the same position, staring at the floor.

Clary sighed in a not so good way, taking him in. His posture was an indication that he was in pain. But more than that, he looked to be distant. His body was there, but his mind had to be somewhere far off.

She inched towards him slowly and sat next to him on the bed. He never moved, never made a move or spoke as she reached for his shirt, pulling it up and over his head. Immediately, she put the ice on his shoulder after he was done whimpering softly in pain, and held her hand there, keeping it in place.

The silence was killing her. She was only comfortable around a few people in silence like this, and Sebastian was definitely not one of them. She sighed. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"I already told you."

"Fine. Do I get to hear the reasons or not?"

The last thing she wanted to do was provoke him, but luckily her attitude didn't hit him too hard. He sighed, using his good hand to reach up and rub the back of his head. "Wayland and I just don't see eye to eye on certain things. We're guys, Clary, so we're bound to fight. Just let it happen and stop asking questions." He shrugged her off of him, grabbing the ice with his own hand and holding it there.

She frowned, hurt rushing to her facial features. "You don't get to choose what I do and don't know. I want to know why Jace felt the need to go this length," she gestured to his shoulder, "to make a point."

Sebastian rolled his eyes, looking directly at Clary. "Because he's Jace Wayland. Because that's what he does. Because I like provoking him. Is that enough?"

"No."

"Well, that's all you're getting," he shot back.

She slit her eyes at him. "I'm not afraid to ask him, Seb. So you might as well tell me. I'm going to find out either way."

"Why is it so important to you?"

"Because I want the details. If there's a way to stop it, I have to have all the information to do it."

"Jesus, Clary," Sebastian stood, grabbing the ice bag as Clary's hand fell. "What is it we always fight about?"

She bit her lip, not having to think too long about it. "Me." The answered actually surprised her, but it was true. She hadn't really thought of it like that.

"That's it. End of story. He got jealous because he can't have you since your mine and tried to dislocate my arm." Clary didn't miss the fire in his eyes when he called her like that, like a possession.

"He didn't exactly try, or fail as a matter of fact," she pointed out. Sebastian's gaze turned hard and dark instantly, and she swallowed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Then why don't you think before you say shit like that again?"

She looked down, hating the anger and hostility in his eyes. This was always the worst part of their relationship. She wished that they could just get through and argument without being rude and feisty towards each other. It wasn't too bad at first, but now with Jace around, it seemed like a daily routine. Sebastian always had something to say, and no matter what Clary said bad it wasn't the right thing. She just couldn't be right at all with him, and it always turned back to bite her in the butt.

With a sigh, she chanced a glance back up at him. His eyes were still on her, taking her in, and she tensed under his gaze. Whenever she pictured herself with a guy, she always thought it would be different. She wanted to be swooned, to melt under their gaze, not lean away from them. Maybe that was just a fairytale; that things didn't work that way in real life. She didn't exactly have other examples to really go by. This might be the bump in the road that people always talked about. It was just a simple thing they could fix, right?

She slowly stood, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around him. Her cheek pressed to skin on his chest. "I didn't mean to upset you."

He sighed. "You've been doing it more and more lately."

"I'm sorry."

They stood there silently for a minute. Clary wasn't sure what to say, what to do. She never knew how to handle him like this, when he was angry and upset, and many times she failed to handle it the right way. It never ended well, so she learned to keep her mouth shut and not push anything that would shove him over the edge.

Finally, after what felt like years, Sebastian pulled back. She hadn't noticed that he'd dropped the ice pack, and with his hands free he pulled her chin up to meet his gaze. "I know. I am too. I shouldn't have snapped at you, but you just make me so furious sometimes."

"Sebastian, I–"

"Shh. Just kiss me."

But he never gave her the chance before he kissed her. It wasn't soft, kind, apologetic, but hard, rough, and forceful. Clary gasped at the amount of pressure he used, giving him more access accidentally. Although she wanted to push him away for a number of reasons, the fearful part of her refused. She knew what it was like to be alone for eighteen years. She knew how it felt when Isabelle, Maia, Aline, Helen, and all her other friends had dates and she didn't. It was the worst. The last thing she wanted was to go back to that, so against her better judgment, she kissed him back.

Her hands snaked up his torso, ghosting over his different temperature shoulders, until she wrapped her arms around his neck and was holding him close.

If there was one thing that she could say was her favorite thing about Seb, it would be that he really was a very good kisser. She wasn't lying to Aline when she said that. He had a way of working it that could have her falling apart in minutes. Before she knew it, he had grabbed her and lifted her. He struggled a bit with his shoulder, but she guessed the adrenaline had kicked in as he carried her to the bed, tossing her on it none too gently and sliding on top of her.

His hands roamed her body quickly, taking no time to rid her of her shirt before kissing her quickly again. She wiggled underneath him, not sure how she should handle it. It was more than obvious that he was getting carried away, wanting a lot more than she was willing to give at the moment, so when he reached for the button on her jeans, her hands flew down and grabbed his wrist.

"Wait."

He sighed immediately, dropping his face to the crook between her neck and her shoulder. "Jesus, Clary, not again."

Her hands tightened their grip when he tried again. "Seb, I'm serious. Wait, please."

"Fine." He pushed himself up, moving his hands to either side of her head. From this angle, he looked completely different. Yes, he was attractive, but Clary could see lines of his face that most people wouldn't notice. Probably her artistic side talking. But she could see the crookedness of his nose since Jace recently broke it, the way one side of his mouth was barely higher than the other, the different shades of his iris, the waves of his hair that framed his handsome face.

Without registering anything, she reached up and touched the corner of his mouth. "Sebastian, why do you keep pushing this?"

"I'm a guy," he answered as if she was stupid. "This is what we do."

"But–"

"Here's the thing. If you don't sleep with me, I have to find girls that do." He lifted one hand, trailing it across her shoulder, down her arm, and tiptoeing it across her stomach. It felt nice, the light touches that he never gave her, but she couldn't stop the pit in her stomach. "I have needs, babe, and you're not exactly up to helping me with them."

He lowered himself down more, resting most of his weight on his good shoulder as he kissed around her neck. She pushed her hand into his hair, hating the fact that she was getting distracted. "Seb, I don't – I don't think this is a g – good idea."

"I disagree," he nipped at her ear. "I believe it's a great idea." As if to add to it, he pressed their torsos together, skin on skin, and Clary would've enjoyed it if she wasn't so worried about him. "You'd enjoy yourself if you'd stop worrying about it. Just let go for once, babe. Let go. I can make you feel so good if you'd trust me with it."

For a moment, she wanted to fight back, almost fought back, but he kissed her protests away, swallowing her breath. His hands traveled to hers, clamping around them and he pulled them above her head, completely exposing her under him.

That's when she'd had enough. She wasn't about to let him get away with this, to almost force her into it. She wasn't some piece of meat for his amusement. She pulled her mouth from his, turning her head when he tried to kiss her again and his lips met her throat instead. "Seb, get off."

He shook his head, kissing down her throat.

"Get off, I'm serious." She yanked her hands out of his, and shoved against his chest. He wasn't budging, so she took a chance – a stupid one – and grabbed his injured shoulder. "Get off!" With a squeeze and a shove, Sebastian gasped in pain and pulled back, falling beside her with wide eyes.

"What the hell?" He grasped his shoulder as she slid from the bed, picking up her shirt and throwing it on quickly. "What are you doing? Where are you going?"

"Seb, I told you I wasn't ready for that!"

He stared at her in disbelief. "It's not that big of a deal."

She shook her head, grabbing her phone and keys. "It is to me." With that, she finally walked out on him, not letting him control her and shut the door behind her. She pulled her shirt on quickly, looking around so no one was watching before practically running out of the room, past Jordan's door and out the entrance.

The sunlight almost blinded her as it started to set in the West, shining right down on her. She recoiled at the bright light, taking it in as she realized what she just did. She'd walked out on Sebastian. She actually up and left him for once. What did that mean? Were they done? Would he take her back?

Did she want to go back?

"Clary?"

She stiffened, hoping it wasn't Seb but then realized that the figure walking towards her wasn't him. He was taller, broader, blonder. Jace.

"Hey, Clary?" He called again as he approached, looking genuinely concerned. His practice gear was currently in a bag over his shoulder, and the new jeans hung on his hips while the white shirt showed his abs as if it wasn't even there. Clary swallowed at the sight of him. "You look like you saw a ghost. Are you alright? What happened?"

She stepped back when he came to close, holding her hand up. "It was nothing. I've just got some stuff on my mind. I just – I'm just going on a walk."

"Umm, you were running, not walking."

"That's a difference of perception." Although she was pretty sure that's exactly how she looked. Flushed, breathing hard, hair matted, eyes wide, and frightened.

"What happened with Sebastian?" Was she that obvious? The last thing she wanted was to talk to Jace about stupid relationship problems. In fact, she kept telling herself that talking to him just wasn't a good idea to begin with.

"Nothing."

He took a step closer. "Come on. You can trust me. And if you don't tell me, you know that Izzy will."

"What makes you think I'll tell Isabelle?" she challenged. His golden eyes lightened up and he raised one eyebrow, clearly fighting her on it. "Fine," she gave up. "Seb and I just had a fight. It's no big deal."

Jace nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets, the strap of his bag sliding on his shoulder. "Right, well, if you ever want to talk, I'm here."

"I'm sure you are."

He was suddenly in front of her, and her gaze reluctantly met his. She could see it in his eyes, see that he meant every word he was saying, but that's what worried her. "I mean it. I'm here for you, Clary."

He bent down, his hand touching her shoulder, and she momentarily thought that he was going to kiss her. She froze, not sure what to do, but his lips just made contact with her cheek, causing that stupid burning sensation again. What the hell was that feeling? He lingered there, making her feel hotter and hotter until his hand slid down her arm, goosebumps rising in his wake.

"I always have been," he whispered in her ear. Then, he was gone, walking into the building with his head down, leaving her standing there in shock.

* * *

Clary had pretty much made up her mind by the time she got back to the room. She had too much to think about, too much on her mind, and the last place she wanted to be was still at school. What she needed was a break, a weekend away from it all to remember what she wanted, to figure out what she's doing with someone like Sebastian, to handle art, to deal with Jace, to live her life how she wanted to.

Isabelle was just getting out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her waist when Clary walked in. "Oh, hey."

"Hey," she said quickly, tossing her stuff on the bed and turning to face her friend. "You don't have a game this weekend, right?"

"Nope."

"So you can leave campus?"

"Yup. No practice. No games."

"Let's do it."

Isabelle froze in the middle of pulling up her jeans, giving Clary a strange look. "What do you mean leave?"

"I mean a weekend trip. Anywhere. I don't care. Away from here."

Isabelle eyed Clary for a long time. Then, she finally pulled her pants on all the way, grabbing one of Simon's t-shirts that he'd "left" over here and slipping it over her head. Without a word, she grabbed Clary's arm, pulling her towards her bed. "Sit." Clary did as she was told, crawling up on the bed and sitting, followed by Isabelle. "Spill it."

Clary tried her best to look ignorant. "What do you mean?"

"What's got your panties in a wad and you freaking out?"

"Nothing." Clary looked down, twiddling her thumbs in her lap.

Isabelle tilted her head, shaking her head. "Don't bullshit me. Something happened with Sebastian."

"And Jace," Clary added, still not sure what to make of that. Earlier, he was caring, nice, and something totally different from the asshat he normally was. That wasn't who he was, who he always acted like around her. Maybe it was because Sebastian was such a jackass that Jace's attitude seemed toned down and nice for once.

Isabelle's eyes widened and she leaned closer. "Tell me."

"Jace just – he was all – you know like… Hell, I don't know."

"Don't freeze up on me Clary."

She leaned back, taking a deep breath and trying her best to think of a way to explain it that Isabelle wouldn't read into it. "He saw me after I left Sebastian's place a little shaken up, and he just acted all nice. He was being everything I know he isn't." And then he almost kissed me again, she thought. Her body involuntarily shivered the memory, her cheek heating where his lips had brushed it. Her arms wrapped around herself, trying to contain it.

Isabelle through a blanket over her legs, and Clary gladly took it. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but he is a pretty nice guy."

"I'm sure."

"I'm serious," Isabelle encouraged. "What exactly did he say?"

_ I'm here for you, Clary. I always have been. _

She pulled her legs to her chest, her brain trying to make out what that even meant. He hadn't always been there for her. In fact, he's made her life hell. Sebastian had gotten worse since Jace showed up. He'd practically tried to take Isabelle from her. He'd started to use her for entertainment, poking fun and doing annoying shit just to get at her nerves. But he'd never been there in the sense he implied.

Except for the night of the party. Although she hated admitting it, she wasn't sure how that night would've ended without him. Sure, Sebastian was pissed off when he finally woke up, but that other horny guy that grabbed her never tried anything again. People stayed clear of her, and she actually enjoyed that. He'd kind of been her rescue that night, but also ruined it at the same time.

"I don't really want to talk about it."

"Clary–"

She shook her head. The contradictory thoughts were starting to eat at her. "Isabelle, can we please just go? You, me, and Simon? Go somewhere with no one else and just have fun like we did last year? I'm so sick of this place right now, and I have to get out."

Isabelle didn't answer right away. She seemed to be studying Clary, and the redhead refused to make eye contact because of that.

"Fine," Isabelle finally said. She pulled her phone out, dialing a number before putting it up to her ear. "Let's see if he's down for it. But you're not off the hook. I'm getting the story out of you one way or another."

Clary nodded, accepting that if she'd get out of this damned college for a few days.

* * *

**Woo! Fun stuff. You got angry Jace, sweet Jace, quiet Jace. Lots of shades of Jace.**

**Round two: Jace - 2. Sebastian - 0. Love it!**

**Let me know what you think! Stay tuned! :)**


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